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ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT 


DISSERTATION 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  BOARD  OF  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

OF  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY  FOR  THE 

DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 


EDWIN  SEELYE  LEWIS 

ASSISTANT  PROFESSOR  OF  THE  ROMANCE  LANGUAGES  AT 
PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY 


BALTIMORE 

The  Modern  Language  Association  of  America 

1895 


GUE^RNSKY: 

ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT 


DISSERTATION 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  BOARD  OF  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

OF  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY  FOR  THE 

DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 


EDWIN   SEELYE  LEWIS 

ASSISTANT   PROFESSOK   OF   THE  ROMANCE   LANGUAGES  AT 
PRINCETON   UNIVERSITY 


BALTIMORE 

The  Modern  Language  Association  of  America 
1895 


QXv 


X 


JOHN   MURPHY  A  CO.,   PRINTERS, 
BALTIMORE. 


[Reprinted  from  the  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language  Association  of 
America,  Vol.  X,  No.  1.] 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Introduction 1 

Phonetic  Transcription 10 

Signs  and  Abbreviations 11 

Bibliography 12 

Chapter  I — Tonic  Vowels 17 

Chapter  II— Subtonic  Vowels 53 

Chapter  III — Atonic  Vowels 65 

Chapter  IV — Consonants 67 

Life H3 


§ 
310410 


Dedicated  to 
Professor  A.  MARSHALL  ELLIOTT, 


AS  A  TOKEN   OF 


GEATITUDE  AND  AFFECTION. 


GUERNSEY:  ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT. 
Introduction. 

Guernsey,  in  shape  a  triangle  and  sloping  toward  the  North, 
is  divided  into  twenty  parishes.  The  Lower  or  Northern 
Parishes  are  those  most  frequently  visited  by  strangers ;  here 
the  scenery  is  quiet,  the  bays  are  large,  with  beautiful  white 
sand-beaches,  varied,  here  and  there,  by  some  bold  projection. 
The  Southern  coast,  on  the  contrary,  is  beautiful  in  its  very 
ruggedness ;  here,  cliffs  a  hundred  feet  in  height,  wild  and 
fierce,  sea  gulls  and  crows  with  their  piercing  shrieks,  waves 
dashing  against  the  rocks  and  into  the  caverns,  all  contribute 
to  produce  a  peculiar  fascination  on  the  visitor. 

The  climate  of  the  Channel  Islands  resembles  that  of  the 
neighboring  shores  of  England  and  France.  The  prevailing 
winds  are  warm  and  moist,  the  easterly  being  the  most  violent, 
and  large  stones  have  sometimes  been  thrown  over  the  wall 
built  at  the  edge  of  the  water,  and  across  a  wide  road.  The 
usual  state  of  the  atmosphere  is  one  of  uncomfortable  mois- 
ture, especially  to  those  accustomed  only  to  the  enervating 
climate  of  the  United  States.  The  natives  are  strong  and 
healthy,  and  men,  well  along  in  years,  are  seen  with  rosy 
cheeks ;  but  the  Guernsey  man  is  not  robust,  like  the  English- 

1 


Z  E.   S.    LEWIS. 

man,  nor  is  he  as  energetic ;  he  works  well  and  intelligently, 
but  everything  is  done  slowly,  and  it  is,  doubtless,  this  free- 
dom from  hurry,  as  well  as  the  pleasant  climate,  that  preserves 
the  health  and  prolongs  the  life  of  the  islanders.  The  poor 
enjoy  superior  comforts,  in  their  small  huts,  near  a  sea  into 
which  they  do  not  fear  to  dip  themselves  from  time  to  time, 
with  healthy  surroundings  and  no  wild  desire  to  acquire  wealth 
in  a  day.  The  winters  are  said  to  be  very  mild,  and  the 
j  summers  are  delightfully  cool. 

The  surface  of  this  island  is  of  about  twenty-four  square 
miles,  from  which  a  third  must  be  deducted  for  rocks,  cliffs 
and  places  not  susceptive  of  cultivation.  We  must  not,  there- 
fore, expect  to  meet  a  great  variety  in  the  products,  nor  an 
,  extensive  system  of  agriculture.  The  extreme  subdivision  of 
>i  land  may  perhaps  diminish  the  usefulness  of  what  little  ground 
can  be  cultivated,  but  the  corresponding  advantage  of  enabling 
the  poorest  man  to  own  a  little  property,  in  which  he  can 
become  interested,  must  be,  in  the  minds  of  most  persons,  of 
sufficient  weight  to  induce  the  preservation  of  the  present 
system  of  the  tenure  of  property.  The  soil  being  fertile,  and 
the  manure,  afforded  by  sand  and  sea-weed,  increasing  this 
fertility,  small  farms  are  seen  everywhere,  even  to  the  very 
edge  of  the  sea,  and  on  every  inch  of  the  ground  something 
useful  is  being  cultivated.  On  these  farms  is  raised  the  famous 
Guernsey  cow,  large  and  of  a  bright  yellow,  and  the  islanders 
are  so  proud  of  their  cattle,  that  every  foreign  breed  is  rigor- 
ously excluded,  and  only  the  meat  required  at  the  slaughter- 
house is  allowed  to  enter  the  island. 

Fruits  and  flowers,  especially  grapes  and  tomatoes,  are  the 
main  product  of  the  hundreds  of  greenhouses  that  cover  the 
island  in  all  directions,  giving  it  a  peculiar  appearance,  when 
the  sun  is  reflected  from  all  this  glass.  This  fruit  is  sold  at 
high  prices  in  London  and  other  large  cities  in  England,  and 
is  the  chief  source  of  whatever  little  wealth  the  inhabitants 
may  possess. 


xi 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND   DIALECT.  3 

It  is  not  unlikely  that,  when  the  early  inhabitants  of  Eng- 
land, driven  before  the  victorious  Saxons,  fled  to  Wales,  and 
thence,  across  the  sea,  to  Brittany,  some  should  have  been 
attracted  to  these  islands  and  have  been  among  the  first  regu- 
lar colonists.  There  is  a  tradition,  that  the  Saracens  possessed 
a  stronghold  in  Guernsey,  called  the  castle  of  Geoffrey ;  this 
site  is  now  peacefully  occupied  by  a  church,  but  the  view 
from  there,  overlooking  the  whole  island,  easily  explains  why 
those  fierce  warriors  had  chosen  this  position  in  preference  to 
any  other. 

Although  no  proof  exists  of  the  fact,  we  may,  however, 
reasonably  infer  that  Rollo,  in  the  10th  century,  possessed  the 
Channel  Islands,  as  well  as  Normandy  and  Brittany.  Richard 
the  First,  third  duke  of  Normandy,  banished  the  monks  of 
Mount  Saint  Michael  to  Guernsey,  where  they  settled  and 
built  a  church,  dedicated  to  Saint  Michael,  and  around  these 
monks,  so  many  other  persons  congregated,  that  their  posses- 
sion of  the  land  was  confirmed  by  Robert,  sixth  duke  of 
Normandy. 

In  1061  Guernsey  was  attacked  by  a  strong  band  of  pirates, 
who  were  soon  disbanded  by  the  inhabitants  and  monks,  sup- 
ported by  some  troops  under  D'Anneville,  an  officer  sent  by 
William  the  .Conqueror,  who  seemed  to  take  considerable 
interest  in  these  islands.  After  the  conquest  of  England,  the 
constitution  of  the  islands  was  in  no  respect  changed,  for  the 
inhabitants  were  on  the  victorious  side,  and,  to  this  day,  they 
are  anxious  to  impress  on  strangers  that  they  have  never  been 
conquered  by  England,  but,  in  reality,  have  themselves  been 
the  conquerors,  and,  as  such,  have  retained  their  independence 
throughout  these  eight  centuries.  After  the  death  of  William, 
England  and  Normandy  were  separated,  and  remained  so  until 
reunited  by  Henry  the  First,  in  1106  ;  Henry  the  Second  did 
not  succeed  his  grandfather  to  the  English  crown,  but  was 
recognized  by  the  barons  as  duke  of  Normandy.  During  these 
changes,  the  Channel  Islands  remained  in  the  possession  of 
the  Norman  dukes,  and  the  English  king,  Stephen,  had  no 


J 


4  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

jurisdiction  over  this  bailiwick ;  the  inhabitants  proved  thus 
their  fidelity  to  their  dukes,  though  these  were  at  war  with 
England.  Cornet  Castle,  an  imposing  structure  at  the  entrance 
of  St.  Peter  Port,  was  built  at  this  time  by  Henry,  who  feared 
lest  the  English  king  might  make  an  attempt  to  capture 
Guernsey,  and  thus  gain  a  decided  advantage  over  the  Nor- 
man army. 

J  When  Henry  succeeded  Stephen  on  the  throne  of  England, 
his  youngest  son  John  was  appointed  Lord  and  Governor  of 
the  Channel  Islands.  After  John  had  become  king,  he  was 
summoned  by  Philip  Augustus  before  the  Court  of  the  Peers 
of  France ;  on  his  refusal  to  appear,  his  right  to  Normandy 
was  forfeited,  but  no  data  exist  as  to  whether  the  islands  were 
included  in  this  forfeiture ;  we  do  know  that  the  inhabitants 
remained  true  to  John,  who,  with  their  financial  aid,  kept  a 

^|  standing  army  in  Guernsey  and  Jersey.  Owing  to  the  loss  of 
Normandy,  it  became  necessary  to  provide  a  peculiar  adminis- 
tration for  these  islands,  and  John  accordingly  established  in 
each  a  jurisdiction  of  its  own,  thinking  thus  to  strengthen  the 
devotion  of  the  islanders  to  his  cause ;  John  may  therefore  be 
looked  upon  by  the  inhabitants  as  the  real  founder  of  their 
present  independence. 

The  islands  were  henceforth  subject  to  repeated  attacks  by 
the  French,  and  Castle  Cornet  was  captured  at  this  time,  but 
was  recovered  during  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Third.  In  this 
king's  treaty  with  Louis  of  France,  especial  care  was  taken 
by  him  to  reserve  these  islands,  with  the  province  of  Gas- 
cony,  and  he  constantly  showed,  as  did  also  his  successors,  his 
attachment   to   these  sturdy  subjects.     Owing  to  local  dis- 

,     turbances,  an  important  fiscal  code  was  drawn  up  during  the 
"^     reign  of  Edward  the  Second,  called  the  PrScepte  d^ Assize,  in 
conformity  with  the  ancient  customs,  as  established  by  John, 
The  French  again  successfully  attacked  Guernsey ;  the  resist- 
ance of  the  islanders  was  gallant,  but  superiority  in  numbers 
/  prevailed ;  this  was  in  1339.    In  1340  Guernsey  was  delivered 
/  from  French  rule,  and  was  granted  its  old  liberties  by  Edward. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  5 

In  1360  the  English  monarch  ceded  to  France,  by  treaty,  the 
province  of  Normandy,  but  specially  reserved  to  himself  the 
possession  of  the  Channel  Islands.  This  treaty  was  not 
respected,  for,  within  twelve  years,  took  place  what  is  popu- 
larly known  in  Guernsey  as  the  Descents  des  8aragousais;  the 
Guernseymen,  numbering  only  eight  hundred,  retreated  to  ,/ 
Castle  Cornet,  whence  they  repulsed  every  attack  of  the 
enemy ;  this  plucky  resistance  of  the  natives  saved  Guernsey, 
and  the  French  commander,  despairing  of  success,  evacuated 
the  island. 

In  the  reign  of  Richard  the  Second,  a  treaty  was  made 
between  the  kings  of  France  and  Castile  to  utterly  destroy 
the  Channel  Islands,  with  the  Isle  of  Wight ;  but  fortunately 
this  confederacy  had  no  results,  and  King  Richard  confirmed, 
before  his  death,  the  charters  of  Guernsey,  which  were  again 
confirmed  by  Henry  the  Sixth,  during  whose  reign,  part  of 
Jersey  was  captured  by  the  French,  and  held  until  relieved 
by  the  English  forces,  with  help  from  the  Guernseymen,  who, 
as  a  reward,  were  granted  still  greater  favors  by  Edward  the 
Fourth.  The  privilege  of  neutrality  was  also  conceded  to 
Guernsey,  and  quiet  reigned  in  that  island  until  the  French, 
shortly  after  the  accession  of  Edward  the  Sixth,  made  a  weak 
and  unsuccessful  attempt  to  invade  the  Channel  Islands;  the 
only  result  was  the  capture  of  Sark,  which  was  held  by /^ 
the  enemy  until  recovered  during  the  reign  of  Mary. 

During  this  reign  of  Queen  Mary,  Guernsey  was' granted 
several  new  privileges,  but,  toward  its  end,  experienced  the 
horrors  of  popery,  from  which  it  was  relieved  only  by  the 
accession  of  Elizabeth.  In  1563  more  serious  work  was 
begun  on  the  harbor  of  St.  Peter  Port,  and  the  queen,  in 
many  ways,  showed  what  importance  she  attached  to  the 
completion  of  this  undertaking.  Elizabeth  also  endowed  a 
grammar  school  in  Guernsey,  from  which  has  grown  a  mag- 
nificent college,  the  pride  of  every  true  Guernseyman  and  an 
influential  seat  of  learning. 


6  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

This  peace  was  troubled,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  First, 
when  Jersey  adhered  to  the  king,  while  Guernsey  took  the 
part  of  the  parliament,  although  the  lieutenant-governor, 
fortified  in  Castle  Cornet,  remained  loyal  to  Charles  and  did 
not  scruple,  time  and  again,  to  fire  into  the  city,  to  the  terror 
of  the  inhabitants  and  the  damage  of  commerce.  The  Guern- 
seymen  remained  stanch  in  their  devotion  to  parliament,  but 
a  succession  of  petty  disputes  among  their  leaders,  added  to 
the  loyalty  of  Castle  Cornet  to  the  king,  were  the  source  of 
great  anxiety  to  them.  Fortunately,  Castle  Cornet  at  last 
capitulated,  in  1651,  but  on  terms  highly  favorable  to  the 
besieged,  who  fully  deserved  the  consideration  of  their  enemies. 

Upon  the  restoration  of  Charles  the  Second  to  the  throne 
of  his  ancestors,  the  inhabitants  seemed  to  forget  their  allegi- 
ance to  the  commonwealth,  and  acknowledged  the  hereditary 
title  of  the  Stuarts ;  the  king,  by  his  favors  to  the  islanders, 
showed  no  resentment  against  them  for  having  sided  with  the 
parliament. 

For  the  next  hundred  years  very  little  of  importance 
occurred  in  Guernsey,  the  only  fact  worth  mentioning  being 
the  loyalty  of  the  people  to  the  Protestant  religion,  which 
made  them  welcome  with  eagerness  the  landing  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange  in  England  ;  the  Catholic  soldiers  were  disarmed, 
and  the  island  was  secured  to  the  cause  of  Protestantism. 

When  the  seven  years'  war  broke  out  between  England 
and  France,  a  strong  effort  was  made  by  the  French  to  secure 
the  Channel  Islands,  but  the  timely  arrival  of  reinforcements 
from  England  prevented  any  great  damage  being  done. 

From  this  date  to  the  present  time,  the  histories  of  Guern- 
sey are  filled  with  new  regulations  as  to  taxes,  laws  for  debt, 
etc.,  but  no  attack  of  importance  was  made  by  the  enemy,  nor 
did  any  decided  change  take  place  in  the  government  of  the 
island;  the  people  are  still  stanch  in  their  loyalty  to  the 
British  throne,  and,  in  their  sympathies,  are  more  English 
than  the  inhabitants  of  Jersey ;  every  honor  was  shown  Queen 
Victoria  on  her  visit  to  the  island,  and,  should  she  ever  need 


GUEENSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  7 

their  help,  the  Guernseymen  will  no  doubt  prove  as  faithful 
and  as  brave  as  did  their  forefathers,  when  it  became  their 
duty  to  defend  their  own  rights  or  those  of  their  rightful 
monarchs. 

It  has  frequently  been  noticed  that  on  a  small  island,  like 
the  one  we  are  now  considering,  the  dialect  has  been  broken 
up  into  fairly  distinct  subdialects,  even  more  than  would  occur 
on  an  open  continent ;  we  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  find 
that  the  Guernsey  patois  of  the  Upper  Parishes,  to  the  South, 
differs  from  that  spoken  in  the  Lower  Parishes ;  in  the  latter 
the  pronunciation  is  broader  and  slower;  this  deliberate  articu- 
lation, though  clearly  separating  the  parishes,  is  difficult  to 
illustrate  accurately.  There  are  also  a  few  specific  differences, 
as,  for  example,  the  pronunciation  of  lahwor  (French  labour) 
of  the  Lower  Parishes,  but  labwar  elsewhere.  So  pa"  and 
hurdif  would  be  heard  along  the  Northern  coast,  whereas  the 
Upper  Parishes  would  have  pa"a"  and  hurda'^if;  kurjce  and 
the  infinitive  tufe  to  the  North,  but  kurjam'  and  tufje  almost 
everywhere  else.  These  last  examples  can  be  easily  explained 
when  one  remembers  that  it  is  in  the  Lower  Parishes  that' 
visitors  dwell  mostly  and  that  there  the  Guernsey  people  of 
wealth  have  their  summer  homes ;  this  intercourse  with  the 
outside  world,  and  with  persons  speaking  pure  French,  has 
caused  the  folk  to  imitate  French  proper  more  closely,  while 
the  people  to  the  South  have  retained  their  old  pronunciation.^ 

Thus  are  illustrated  the  inroads  thg-t  Modern  French  is 
constantly  making  on  the  patois,  with  the  inevitable  result  of 
finally  destroying  its  last  living  vestiges.  But  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  French  spoken  in  the  courts,  and  in  the 
city  generally,  although  supposed  to  be  correct,  is,  to  say 
the  least,  very  peculiar. 

When  a  good  French  word  is  taken  into  the  patois,  it  is 
usually  introduced  bodily,  and,  with  the  help  of  the  schools, 
this  is  being  done  more  and  more;  not  so,  however,  with 

1  Further  differences  in  the  linguistic  results  of  the  Upper  and  the  Lower 
Parishes  are  noted  in  the  course  of  this  dissertation. 


8  E.   8.   LEWIS. 

the  English  terms,  which  are  generally  changed  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  speaker.  The  dialect  has  thus  to  con- 
tend against  two  strong  foes,  and  the  fight  is  so  unequal  that 
it  cannot  last  much  longer. 

A  few  words,  in  conclusion,  on  how  the  material  for  this 
dissertation  was  collected  may  be  of  some  interest.  In  the 
middle  of  May,  1889,  I  arrived  in  Guernsey,  and,  with  a 
letter  of  introduction  to  Mr.  Corbet,  went  at  once  to  his  home, 
where  I  remained  until  October.  Mr.  Corbet  is  one  of  the 
principal  living  poets  of  Guernsey,  and  was  a  good  friend  of 
the  late  Mr.  M^tivier,  who  wrote  so  much  in  his  beloved 
patois.  With  Mr.  Corbet's  assistance,  I  learned  to  speak  the 
Guernsey  dialect,  while  carefully  noting  his  pronunciation ; 
when  opportunity  offered,  I  wandered  about  the  neighbor- 
hood, talking  with  every  countryman  I  chanced  to  meet,  and 
jotting  down  especially  the  phonetic  results  of  these  conver- 
sations. All  this  part  of  my  material  was  drawn  from  the 
Upper  Parishes.  I  soon  began,  however,  to  make  excursions 
into  the  Lower  Parishes.  Mr.  Corbet  and  I  also  worked 
together  on  the  different  prose  and  poetical  pieces  in  the  dia- 
lect, he  carefully  giving  me  the  pronunciation  and  meaning 
of  any  word  or  sentence  I  did  not  know. 

On  my  return  to  America,  in  the  autumn  of  1889,  I  put 
together  the  material  I  had  gathered  and,  in  1890,  presented 
it  as  my  fellowship-dissertation.  In  the  June  of  1891,  I 
landed  for  the  second  time  in  Guernsey,  where  I  remained 
until  September.  I  first  went  to  Mr.  Corbet's  home,  which 
I  considered  as  my  headquarters  and  whence  I  made  excur- 
sions all  over  the  island ;  I  thus  met  and  conversed  with  all 
sorts  of  people.  Eventually,  I  went  to  live  with  Mr.  Guil- 
bert,  in  the  Lower  Parishes,  where  I  could  hear,  every  day, 
the  patois  as  spoken  in  that  part  of  the  island.  Mr.  Guilbert 
is  another  of  Guernsey's  poets,  and,  though  very  modest,  one 
of  the  most,  if  not  the  most,  natural  and  sympathetic.  With 
him  I  did  the  same  kind  of  work  as  with  Mr.  Corbet,  even 
going  over  most  of  my  old  material.     At  St.  Peter  Port,  I 


GUERNSEY:    ITS   PEOPLE   AND   DIALECT.  9 

consulted  the  official  records  carefully  enough  to  see  that  no 
valuable  aid  on  the  patois  could  be  obtained  from  them. 

I  next  went  to  Paris,  where  I  remained  several  weeks, 
working,  in  the  National  Library,  on  the  Guernsey  dialect. 
It  was  there  that  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Professor 
Charles  Joret,  and  my  researches  in  the  library  were  made 
much  pleasanter  by  the  interest  and  sympathy  he  so  kindly 
manifested  in  my  work. 

In  this  dissertation  I  have  carefully  avoided  the  discussion 
of  certain  very  complicated  questions,  such  as  the  varied 
development  of  o,  or  the  origin  of  nou  (for  the  French  on) 
and  of  le  den;  I  intend  to  take  up  these  points  separately, 
in  the  endeavor  to  find  some  satisfactory  solution.  Another 
interesting  question  that  cannot  be  considered  here,  is  the 
relation  of  the  old  Norman  texts  to  the  Norman  patois 
actually  spoken  at  that  time.  The  object  of  this  thesis  is  to 
indicate  the  differences  between  the  Guernsey  dialect  and 
French  proper ;  all  results  that  are  similar  have  been  either 
omitted  entirely  or  simply  mentioned.  The  whole  of  the 
Guernsey  literature  has  been  examined,  so  that  it  may  safely 
be  said  that  if  any  development  is  not  found  in  this  work,  it 
either  is  exactly  similar  to  the  development  in  French  proper, 
or  is  not  illustrated  by  examples  from  the  Guernsey  litera- 
ture or  even  from  the  spoken  language.  The  morphology 
will  be  treated  later,  in  a  separate  publication. 

In  the  examples,  throughout  this  dissertation,  the  phonetic 
spelling  comes  first,  in  italics,  then  the  usual  spelling  of  the 
Guernsey  writers,  and,  lastly,  the  Latin  word  that  serves  as 
basis  to  the  patois  form.  Many  examples  are  given  that  are 
not  found  in  the  Guernsey  literature,  but  I  have  generally 
asked  Mr.  Corbet  how  he  would  spell  such  words.  The 
Latin  etyma  have  nearly  all  been  taken  from  Korting's 
Lateinisch-romanisches  Worterbuch} 

^I  wish  to  state  here  that  through  unavoidable  circumstances  the  publi- 
cation of  this  dissertation  has  been  delayed  more  than  a  year,  during  which 
time  no  alterations  have  been  made  in  the  subject-matter. 


10  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

Professor  Elliott  suggested  this  subject  to  me;  through  him 
I  have  been  constantly  encouraged  and  helped,  and  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  thank  him  here  for  his  valuable  aid  throughout 
this  work.  I  must  also  express  my  thanks  to  Professor 
Matzke  for  having  carefully  read  this  dissertation  and  for 
having  helped  me  with  his  suggestions.  It  gives  me  pleasure 
to  add  an  expression  of  my  appreciation  of  the  assistance 
of  Mr.  Corbet  and  Mr.  Guilbert,  without  whom  I  could  not 
have  gathered  all  this  material,  and  of  the  help  of  Mr.  John 
Linwood  Pitts,  and  also  of  Mr.  Guille  and  Mr.  Alles,  who  so 
kindly  put  at  my  disposal  the  valuable  contents  of  the  public 
library  at  St.  Peter  Port,  founded  by  their  munificence. 


PHONETIC    TRANSCRIPTION. 

a  is  pronounced  as  in  pdte, 


» '* 

u 

u 

a 

patte, 

e  " 

ii 

a 

a 

beb^, 

9  " 

it 

i( 

a 

p^re, 

e" 

t( 

u 

ii 

l6, 

i  " 

'(C 

a 

a 

fin^, 

0  " 

U 

n 

a 

trdne. 

o" 

it 

a 

a 

fort. 

w" 

CI 

a 

ii 

sou, 

w 

<( 

a 

n 

muY, 

ce  " 

a 

u 

a 

heitre. 

h'' 

(( 

a 

ii 

crin, 

9'' 

u 

a 

a 

^rain, 

/" 

« 

a 

a 

chant, 

5" 

a 

li 

a 

gent, 

\  " 

it 

ii 

a 

Italian  ^glio, 

^" 

t( 

(( 

a 

campa^ne. 

i" 

it 

ii 

a 

bien. 

«?" 

<i 

a 

a 

oifci, 

«, « 

(i 

ii 

ii 

m/ic 

GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECTT. 


11 


SIGNS    AND   ABBEEVIATIONS. 


Signs. 


>   means  gives,  becomes, 


< 
a* 


a: 


a 


ji 


from,  comes  from, 
short  a, 
long  a, 
tonic  a, 
subtonic  a, 
nasal  a. 


Common  Abbreviations. 


L.  L. 

stands  for  Low  T^atin, 

Eom. 

li 

i< 

Romance, 

Germ. 

a 

(( 

Germanic, 

O.  H.  G. 

a 

u 

Old  High  German, 

Gr. 

u 

(( 

Greek, 

It. 

a 

(( 

Italian, 

masc. 

a 

it 

masculine, 

fem. 

u 

a 

feminine. 

sing. 

u 

a 

singular. 

plur. 

a 

a 

plural, 

nom. 

it 

(( 

nominative,  or  subject  case. 

ace. 

a 

ii 

accusative,  or  direct  object  case. 

dat. 

a 

ii 

dative,  or  indirect  object  case. 

obj. 

a 

a 

objective  case. 

Abbreviations  of  Works. 


Diet, 
ExtensioUj 


cf.  No.  14  of  Bibliography, 

a  ((  ^g  ((  is 

a  it  4Q  a  a 

a  a  Q'j^   ii  ii 

a  i(  ^^   a  a 


12 


E. 

S.   LEWIS. 

F.K, 

cf.  No 

39  of  Bibliography, 

F.G., 

n 

(( 

34  " 

Hague, 

a 

{( 

20  " 

MUangeSy 

iC 

ic 

13  " 

Norm,  Mund. 

« 

(( 

8  " 

P.P., 

iC 

u 

43  "             " 

P.G., 

a 

ii 

38  " 

KG., 

u 

a 

33  " 

Saire, 

<i 

a 

21  " 

8.M., 

(( 

u 

35  " 

St.  Mat, 

iC 

(( 

36  " 

BIBLIOGRAPHY.^ 

Dictionaries. 

l.—Dictionnaire  du  patois  normand  par  Ed.  Dum^ril 
(1849);  8°. 

2. — Glossaire  du  patois  normand  par  Louis  du  Bois  (Caen, 
1856);  XL-440pp.,  8^ 

3. — Histoire  et  glossaire  du  normand  par  Le  Herichier 
(Avranches,  1862);  3  vols.,  8°. 

4. — A  dictionary  of  the  Norman  or  Old  French  language, 
to  which  are  added  the  Laws  of  William  the  Conqueror,  by 
Robert  Kellam  (London,  1779);  viii-259-xii-88  pp.,  8°. 

5. — Diciionnaire  du  patois  normand  en  usage  dans  le  d^- 
partement  de  VFhre  par  Robin,  Le  Provost,  A.  Passy,  De 
Blosseville  (Evreux,  1879);  xxiv-458  pp.,  8°. 

6. — Dictionnaire  du  patois  du  pays  de  Bray  par  I'Abbe  J. 
E.  Decorde  (Rouen,  1852) ;  140  pp.,  8^ 


^  Only  those  works  are  mentioned  which  have  had  a  positive  influence  in 
the  preparation  of  this  dissertation.  It  has  not  been  thought  best  to  include, 
in  this  list,  works  that  deal  with  the  Old  Norman  dialect,  as  they  are  all 
well  known. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  13 

7. — Noms  de  famille  normands  ^udi^s  dans  leurs  rapports 
avee  la  vieille  langue  et  sp^dalement  avec  le  dialecte  normand 
anden  et  modeme  par  Henri  Moisy  (Paris,  1875),  xxiv-448 
pp.,  8\ 

Modern  Norman  Dialect.^ 

8. — JEntwicMung  der  normannischen  Mundart  im  D6parte- 
ment  de  la  Marche  und  auf  den  Inseln  Guernsey  und  Jersey 
von  Bruno  Eggert  (Zts.  f.  Bom.  Phil,  XIII,  1889,  pp.  353- 
403).  The  first  half  of  this  study  was  published  as  a  disser- 
tation (Halle,  1889),  31  pp.,  8^ 

9. — Remarques  sur  quelques  expressions  usit^es  en  Normandie, 
leur  emploi  par  certains  auteurSy  leur  origine,  tear  Uymologiey 
etc.,  par  Gustave  Le  Vavasseur,  extrait  de  VAnnuaire  nor- 
mand—ann^e  1878  (Caen,  1878) ;  106  pp.,  8^ 

10. — De  quelques  modes  de  pronondation  usith  en  patois 
normand  par  Henri  Moisy  (Revue  hist,  de  Vane.  lang.  fran- 
gaise  et  Revue  des  patois  de  la  France,  I,  pp.  301-307,  344- 
350;  II,  pp.  52-56,75-78). 

11. — Des  caract^res  et  de  V extension  du  patois  normand, 
etude,  suivie  d\ine  carte,  par  Charles  Joret  (Paris,  1883); 
xxxii-211  pp.,  S\ 

12. — Charles  Joret.  Des  caracthres  et  de  V extension  du 
patois  normand,  revue  par  J.  Gilli^ron,  extrait  de  la  Romania, 
vol.  XII  (Nogent-le-Eotrou) ;  10  pp.,  8°. 

13. — Melanges  de  phonUique  normande  par  Charles  Joret 
(Paris,  1884) ;  LVi-64  pp.,  S\ 

14. — Essai  sur  le  patois  normand  du  Besdn  par  Charles 
Joret  {Mknoires  de  la  Soc.  de  Ling,  de  Paris,  III,  1878,  pp. 
210-247). 

15. — Essai  historique  sur  la  mile  de  Bayeux  et  son  arron- 
dissemeni  par  Frederic  Pluquet  (Caen,  1829);  ii-427-V 
pp.,  8«. 

^  The  works  mentioned  in  this  section  relate  mainly  to  the  dialects  of 
Western  Normandy,  near  Guernsey. 


4  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

16. —  Contes  populaireSy  traditions ,  proverbes  et  dictons  de 
Parrondissement  de  Bayeux,  suivis  d^un  vocabulaire  des  mots 
rustiques  et  des  noms  de  lieu  les  plus  remarquables  de  ce  pays, 
par  Frederic  Pluquet  (Caen,  1825) ;  79  pp.,  8°. 

17. — ChaTisons  normands  du  XP  si^cle,  publiees  pour  la 
i^**®  fois  sur  les  Manuscrits  de  Bayeux  et  de  Vire,  avec  intro- 
duction et  notes,  par  A.  Gaste  (Caen,  1866);  xliii-1  46-28 
pp.,  8°. 

18. — Litth^ature  or  ale  de  la  Basse  Normandie  par  Jean 
Fleury  (Paris,  1883);  xii-396  pp.,  16°. 

19. — Flore  populaire  de  la  Normandie  par  Charles  Joret 
(Caen  et  Paris,  1887). 

20. — Essai  sur  le  patois  normand  de  la  Hague  par  Jean 
Fleury  (Paris,  1886);  368  pp.,  8°. 

21. — Glossaire  du  patois  du  Val  de  Saire,  suivi  de  remar- 
ques  grammatieales,  par  Axel  Romdahl  (Linkoping,  1881) ; 
81  pp.,  8°. 

22. —  TJeber  die  VolJcssprache  des  13,  Jahrhunderts  in  Cal- 
vados und  Orne  mit  Hinzuziehung  des  heute  dort  gebrduchlichen 
Patois,  Dissertation  von  Albert  Kiippers  (Halle,  1889) ;  54 
pp.,  8». 

23. — Esquisses  du  Bocage  normand  par  Jules  Lecoeur 
(Cond6-sur-]Sroireau,  1883);  408  pp.,  8^ 

24. — La  Camp6nade,  po^me  hero'i-comi-burlesque,  suivi  de 
La  Foire  d^FJtouvy,  pricide  d^une  notice  sur  sa  vie,  par  Lalle- 
man,  3®  edition  (Vire,  1865);  134  pp.,  8"*.  In  this  work  is 
found  the  Rendez-vous  du  depart,  in  which  some  of  the  per- 
sonages speak  in  the  patois  of  Vire. 

25. — Etude  sur  la  po^ie  populaire  en  Normandie,  et  sp^ciale- 
ment  dans  V  Avranchin,  par  Eugene  de  Beaurepaire  (Avranches 
et  Paris,  1856);  87  pp.,  8^ 

26. — La  Normandie  romanesque  et  m^rveilleuse.  Traditions, 
ligendes  et  superstitions  populaires  de  cette  province,  par  Amelie 
Bosquet  (Paris  et  Rouen,  1845)  ;  xvi-520  pp.,  8"*. 


guernsey:  its  people  and  dialect.  15 

Works  on  Guernsey.^ 

27. — History  of  Guernsey^  and  biographical  sketches^  by 
Jonathan  Duncan  (London,  1841);  xvi-656  pp.,  8°. 

28. — History  of  Jersey,  by  Philip  Fable,  has  some  refer- 
ences to  Guernsey. 

29. — History  of  Guernsey  and  other  Channel  Islands,  by 
Tupper. 

30. — Les  ties  de  la  Manche,  Jersey  et  Guernesey  en  18Ifi  et 
184^9,  par  X****  {Revue  des  deux  mondes,  nouvelle  p^riode, 
vol.  IV,  1849,  pp.  937-967). 

31. —  Guernsey,  its  present  state  and  future  prospects,  by 

{Dublin  University  Magazine,  XXYIII,  1846,  pp. 

624-634,  704-716). 

32. — Guernsey  and  Sark,  by  George  E.  Waring,  Jr.  {Scrib- 
ner's  Magazine,  X,  1875,  pp.  674-591). 

Guernsey  Patois. 

SS,— Rimes  guernesiaises  par  un  cdtelain — Georges  Metivier 
(Guernsey,  1831);  iv-116  pp.,  12°.  Another  edition,  with 
small  illustrations,  has  been  published  (1883). 

34. — Fantaisies  guernesiaises  par  Georges  Metivier  (Guern- 
sey, 1866);  12°. 

35. — The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  the  parable  of  the  Sower, 
translated  in  the  Franco-Norman  dialect  of  Guernsey,  by  Georges 
Metivier,  edited  by  John  Linwood  Pitts  (Guernsey) ;  xi-41 
pp.,  16^ 

36. — Le  saint  ^vangile  selon  St,  Matthieu,  traduit  en  Nor- 
mand  de  Guernesey  (London,  1863). 

37. — Dictionnaire  Franco-Normand,  ou  recueil  des  mots 
particuliers  au  dialecte  de  Guernesey,  faisant  voir  leurs  rela- 
tione romanes,  celtiques  et  tudesques,  par  Georges  Metivier 
(London  and  Edinburgh,  1870);  viii-499  pp.,  8°. 

^In  this  section  no  mention  is  made  of  the  works  that  deal  with  the 
archaeology  or  with  the  laws  of  Guernsey. 


16  E.   S.    LEWIS. 

38. — Poesies  guernesiaises  et  frangaises,  avec  glossaire,  par 

Georges  M^tivier  (Guernesey,  1883);  xiii-324-xlvii,  pp.,  8^ 

39. — Les  Feuilles  de  la  Fortt,  ou  recueil  de  poesie  originale, 

en  anglais,  frangais  et  guernesiais,  par  Denys  Corbet  (Guerne- 

sey,  1871);  224  pp.,  12°. 

40. — Les  Chctnts  du  drain  RimeuXy  ou  pieces  de  po^ie  origi- 
nale  en  guernesiais  et  en  frangais,  par  Denys  Corbet  (Guerne- 
sey,  1884);  256  pp.,  12^ 

41. — Lejour  de  Fan,  pieces  de  poesie  originate,  en  frangais  et 
en  guernesiais,  par  Denys  Corbet  (Guernesey) ;  appeared  for  the 
years  1874,  1875,  1876  and  1877;  about  32  pp.,  12°,  each. 

42. — Le  Chant  des  Fontaines,  par  Thomas  Lenfestey  (Guerne- 
sey, 1875);  xv-64pp.,  12°. 

43. — The  patois  poems  of  the  Channel  Islands,  the  Norman- 
French  text,  edited  with  parallel  English  translation,  historical 
introduction,  and  notes,  by  John  Lin  wood  Pitts  (Guernesey, 
1883);  2  vols.,  viii-62  and  xvi-79  pp.,  8°. 

44. — La  nouvelle  ann^e,  with  pieces  in  the  patois  of  Guern- 
sey and  Jersey;  a  yearly  calendar  (Jersey,  1867-1875). 

45. — A  Christmas  box  of  Channel  Gems,  being  a  Christmas 
Annual  for  the  Channel  Islands,  edited  by  "  Honey  Bee " 
(Guernsey,  1882);  51  pp.,  8°. 

46. — Channel  Gems,  edited  by  A.  N.  Le  Cheminant  (Guern- 
sey, 1883);  only  one  number  appeared  (March  1st);  40  pp., 
8°.  The  last  two  publications  contain  a  few  pieces  in  the 
Guernsey  dialect. 

47. — Folk-lore  of  Guernsey  and  Sarh,  by  Louisa  Lane- 
Clarke,  2nd  edition  (Guernsey,  1890);  vii-152  pp.,  12°. 
This  work  contains  a  few  Guernsey  poems. 

48. — La  Gazette  Officielle  de  Guernesey,  a  weekly  news- 
paper, has  published  some  dialect  poems,  all  of  which,  how- 
ever, can  be  found  in  the  works  already  mentioned. 

49. — Le  Baillage,  a  weekly  newspaper,  for  which  Mr. 
Corbet  has  frequently  written  articles,  in  the  Guernsey  patois, 
since  1887. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  17 

Chapter  I. 
TONIC  VOWELS. 


I. —  a'  in  open  syllable. 

§  1. —  a'+  oral  cons.  +  voc.,. 
a' +  mute  +  liquid. 

(1)  In  such  a  position,  a'>  aH',  with  a  distinct  final  *-sound, 
very  short  and  with  a  tendency  toward  wideness.  Examples : 
ai'l  (aile) :  alam,  amai'r  (amaire) :  amaram,  asai'  (assaiz) :  ad 
+  SATIS,  6Xar  (bllai) :  *BLATUM,/a^•v  (faive) :  fabam, fumai' 
(furaaie) :  ruMATA,  kai'  (quai) :  qualem,  kjai'r  (cUair) :  CLA- 
RUM,  k\ai'  (cllai)  :  clavem,  kotai'  (cotai*) :  costatum,  mai'r 
(mair) :  mare,  nai'  (naiz) :  nasum,  pe^'sad'  (pensaie) :  pen- 
SATAM,  prai'  (prai)  :  pratttm,  ruza:v  (rous^ie)  :  *arrosare, 
sai'l  (sail) :  sal,  tai'  (tai) :  talem,  lai'vr  (laivre) :  labrum, 
TKiai'v  (maire) :  matrem,  pai'r  (paire) :  patrem. 

(2)  In  the  modern  Norman  patois  the  results  vary,  being 
e,  a'r  or  o,^  the  diphthong  a'i'  (written  ai  by  Fleury)  being 
the  development  for  the  dialect  of  the  Hague.  Joret's  first 
opinion,^  agreeing  with  Liicking's,^  was  that  a'i'  represented 
the  first  stage  between  Latin  a  and  French  e;  but  as  ei  (ey)  is 
found  in  the  old  Norman  mss.,*  it  is  most  likely  that  a'r  is 
a  later  Norman  development  of  the  previous  ei  {ey).^  Atten- 
tion might  be  called  to  the  fact  that  it  was  an  Old  Norman 
characteristic  to  write  ai  (from  Latin  e).^  We  thus  see  that 
the  Guernsey  a'i'  represents  a  phenomenon  already  found  in 
Old  Norman,  and  still  heard  in  the  Hague  and  in  the  North 
of  the  Cotentin.'^ 

^  Joret,  Melanges,  p.  12;  Fleury,  Hague,  pp.  31,  32;  Joret,  Bessin,  p.  220. 
^Melanges,  p.  12.  ^Aelt.frz.  Mund.,  p.  101. 

"*  Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  374. 

5  Cf.  Meyer-Liibke,  Gram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  214,  g  226,  and  Joret,  Melanges,  p.  16. 
^Suchier,  Beimpredigt,  p.  xviii,  17.  ^  Joret,  Melanges,  p.  12. 

2 


18  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

(3)  A  few  exceptions  are  to  be  noted.  pa:r  (p^re) :  parem, 
without  any  following  *-sound.  hjdr  (quer,  ca6r) :  quake, 
which,  in  Guernsey,  is  pronounced  with  an  open  6,  and  not 
closed,  as  Eggert^  would  have  it.  patrem  and  matrem, 
when  applied  to  human  beings,  have  the  same  results  in  Guern- 
sey as  in  French  proper,  but  when  referring  to  animals,  they 
give  pai'r  and  mai'r,  as  noted  above.  Owing  to  the  following 
labial  consonant,  *gravat  >  groev  (greuve). 

§  2. —  a'  +  nasal  +  voc. 

(1)  The  result  is  the  same  as  when  a'  is  followed  by  an 
oral  consonant :  a'  >  aH\  Examples  :  ai'm  (aime)  :  amat, 
foHavn  (fontaine)  :  fontanam,  grai'n  (graine)  :  granum, 
Jcaptai'n  (cap'taine) :  *capitanum,  hastarn  (castaine) :  CAS- 
taneam,  rai'n  (raine) :  ranam,  smai'n  (s'maine)  :  septima- 
is AM,  fa^'tai'n  (chentaine) :  centum,  and  the  adjectives  having, 
in  the  feminine,  the  same  termination  as  sai'n  (saine)  :  sanam, 
suvrai'n  (souvraine)  :  superanam,  etc. 

(2)  In  French,  ai  in  this  position  began  to  be  pronounced 
9  already  in  1550.^  The  only  part  of  Normandy  that  has  a 
diphthong  corresponding  to  this  one,  is  the  Hague,  where, 
however,  the  a  is  nasalized  (dy):^  in  the  Val  de  Saire,*  a 
remains,  in  this  position,  but  becomes  e  in  the  Bessin.^ 

§  3. —  a'+  final  nasal. 

(1)  In  the  treatment  'of  a'  in  this  position,  the  Parishes 
differ  slightly :  the  Upper  Parishes  show  the  result  a'a",  or 
(with  the  a  changed  to  v  under  the  influence  of  a"")  »V;  in 
the  Lower  Parishes,  the  development  of  a' +  final  nasal  has 
been  pushed  further,  since  the  product  is  9~,  without  any  trace 

^  Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  pp.  373-4 ;  this  development  is  similar  to  that  of 

*  Suchier,  Frangais  et  Proven^,  p.  54. 

=*  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  33.  *  Komdahl,  Saire,  p.  11. 

5  Joret,  Bessin,  p.  220,  I",  fi. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  J9 

of  diphthongization.  Sometimes  also  both  vowels  of  the  diph- 
thong are  nasalized,  so  that  a"'9"  (or  o"V)  is  heard.  Examples : 
dma9''  (d'main):  de  +  MANE,/aa"  (faim):  famem,  maa**  (main): 
MANUM,  pad""  (pain) :  panem,  viljad^  (villain) :  *villanum. 

(2)  In  French  proper,  the  pronunciation  a"  became  general 
only  by  the  end  of  the  16th  century,^  showing  that  the  develop- 
ment in  the  Lower  Parishes  is  more  recent  than  that  in  the 
Upper  Parishes.^  i"  is  heard  in  the  Bessin,^  but  the  result  that 
corresponds  the  most  closely  to  ours  is  the  ayn  of  the  Hague.* 

§  4. —  h{g  or  mouille  cons.)  +  a'. 

(1)  The  change  is  twofold  :  the  first  is  into  je  or,  when  an 
r  follows,  into  p  (sometimes  d) ;  the  second  is  into  ^. 

(2)  As  illustrations  of  the  first  result,  we  shall  take  the 
infinitives  in  -are,  when  preceded  by  a  ^  {g).  Here  we  meet 
with  the  ending  je,  the  usual  pronunciation  of  uneducated 
Guernseymen.  Examples  :  bai'zje  (baisier),  epilfje  (^puchier), 
drhdr^e  (herbergier),  fikje  (fiquier),  forjje  (forgier),  katwailje 
(catouailler),  kwqfje  (couachier),  lai'sje  (laissier),  moT-^e  (man- 
gier), mnifje  (m'nichier),  skje  (s'quier),  fevqfje  (chevauchier), 
tarjje  (targier),  tufje  (touchier),  j,ujje  (jugier).^  Some  few 
persons,  probably  influenced  by  the  written  language,  pro- 
nounce -jdVy  instead  of  -je,  and  indeed  the  pronunciation  -e, 
without  anyj-sound,  is  beginning  to  be  heard  in  the  Lower 
Parishes.  Beside  these  infinitives,  we  find  ddrjje  (derchie) : 
CAPUT  and  jO'ar  (chier)  :  carum.^ 

(3)  These  infinitives  have  been  treated  according  to  the 
Bartsch-Mussafia  law,  with  a  pronunciation  -J9  at  the  start, 

^  Suchier,  Frang.,  pp.  43  and  54. 

^For  a  series  aHyvH,  etc.,  cf.  Schwan,  Gram.  (2nd  ed.),  §  304,  Schwan's 
ce  corresponding  to  »  as  used  in  this  dissertation. 

^  Joret,  JBessin,  p.  220,  1",  j8.  *Fleury,  Hague,  p.  33. 

*  The  same  result  je  is  noted  in  ku'efje  (cou^ffier) :  O.  H.  G.  kupphja  and 
in  pxjef  (pUeche)  :  plateam. 

•e  is  found  in  eger  (^gu^re):  Frankish  *waron  and  in  dt/el  (^tchelle): 

SCALAM. 


20  E.  S.   LEWIS. 

but  -je  later  ;^  in  French,  ie  of  the  infinitive  was  reduced  to  e 
at  the  end  of  the  14th  century,  becoming  e  in  other  forms 
only  in  the  1 5th  century.^  In  Anglo-Norman,  ie  was  reduced 
to  6  between  1174  and  1183.^  Neither  in  Guernsey,  nor  in 
the  Hague,*  where  even  the  step  id  is  heard,  is  this  je  reduced 
to  e;  ie  is  also  found  in  the  Bessin.* 

(4)  We  must  now  consider  the  second  result,  which  is  L 
This  i  comes  through  the  stage  iei'  (or  jei),  illustrated  by  such 
words  as  aidieij  chiei  that  are  found  in  the  patois  of  the  Hague.* 
An  i'  is  added  to  je  through  the  tendency,  noticed  among  the 
common  people,  to  drawl  out  or  prolong  the  vowels,  and  it  is 
in  the  prolongation  of  je  that  a  slight  z-sound  is  developed 
immediately  after  it,  and  jei'  would  then  be  reduced  to  ij 
The  examples  found  are,  avzi  (alsi) :  *ad  -f  atiare,  brafi: 
(brasshie)  :  bracchium,  irol'ni:  (iragnie)  :  *araneatam,  hf"- 
pd'^ni:  (compengnie) :  *companiatam,  Jco/i:  (cauchie) :  CALCIA- 
TAM,  mar/i  (marshi) :  mercatum, p9"/t.-  (pinchie) :  V :Pic,pu'am: 
(pouagnie) :  PUGNUM,^  and  all  the  past  participles  of  verbs 
with  the  termination  -je  in  the  infinitive — bai'zi  (baisi),  epufi 
(epuchi),  etc.^  The  i,  following  a  mouill6  consonant,  need  not 
necessarily  be  developed  through  the  stage  jei',  as  explained 
above,  but  -je  could  become  directly  i  under  the  influence  of 
the  preceding  mouille  consonant,  which,  being  palatal,  always 
has  a  strong  i-,  or  raising,  influence  :  je  >  re'>  ^'e*>  i.  This 
same  explanation  can  also  be  applied  to  the  development  of 
(k  or  g  -\-)a  into  i.  Since  the  gutturals,  and  especially  their 
developed  sounds  /  and  5,  require  a  position  of  the  tongue 

^Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  30.  *  Jd,  p.  51. 

2  Suchier,  Reimp.,  p.  xvi,  1 ;  Gorlich,  Mak.,  p.  xliii  ;  Suchier,  St.  Auban, 
p.  2,  and  Busch,  Ang.-Norm.,  p.  66.  sole  and  pane  (^  9)  may  represent  the 
Anglo-Norman  reduction  of  ie  to  e,  while  the  French  retains  the  diphthong 
{soulter,  panier), 

*  Fleury,  Hague,  pp.  32,  33.  *  Joret,  Besdn,  p.  220,  lo,  y. 

«Fleury,  Hague,  pp.  32,  33. 

^  A  result  similar  to  the  one  mentioned  by  Schwan  in  his  Gram.,  §  86. 

^  A  like  reduction  is  seen  in  ameti  (amSti) :  *amicitatem  and  piti  (piti) 
PIETATEM.  ^  V.  M,  2. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  21 

somewhat  related  to  that  of  i,  they  would  strengthen  the  action 
of  this  vowel  on  the  following  e  in  the  combination  re'  (or  j*e), 
and  the  final  result  would  inevitably  be  the  fall  or,  rather, 
absorption  of  e. 

(5)  This  reduced  stage  i  cannot  interchange,  in  Guernsey, 
with  je,  as  Eggert  seems  to  imply  :  ^  the  forms  that  have  je, 
never  have  i,  and  those  with  i,  never  have  Je.  The  product  i, 
and  also  ie,  from  Latin  -atem,  -atam,  is  found  in  the  Anglo- 
Norman  of  the  14th  century,  and  even  when  no  palatal  pre- 
cedes.^ In  the  modern  dialects,  this  result  is  heard  in  the 
Bessin,^  whereas  the  Hague  has  id  only.* 

§  5. —  a'+  secondary  j. 

(1)  When  a'  is  followed  by  a  secondary  J  the  two  sounds 
combine  to  form  the  diphthong  a'i'.^  Examples :  ai'g  (aigue) : 
*ADJUTARE,  gai'n  (game) :  vaginam,  hai'n  (haine) :  Frankish 
HATJAN,  kai'  (quait) :  cadet,^  mai'  (mais) :  magis,  par  (p^is) : 
PAGENSEM,  sai-  (sait) :  sapit,  vai'  (vais)  :  vadeo. 

(2)  In  French  proper,  ai  had  given  di  before  the  12th  cen- 
tury, becoming,  later,  9  J 

§  6. —  k  [g  or  j)  -\-  a' -\-  final  nasal. 

In  this  position,  a'  is  simply  nasalized,  with  no  other 
change  of  quality.  Examples :  doi'a''  (doyen) :  decanum, 
moi'aJ'  (moyen) :  medianum,  pai'a''  (paien) :  paganum,  tfol" 
(tchen) :  canem.    When  compared  with  the  change  of  a'-\- 


^  Norm.  Mund.,  pp.  375-6.  ^  Joret,  Bessin,  p.  220,  1«,  7. 

2  Busch,  Ang.-Norm.,  p.  65.  *  Fleury,  Hague,  pp.  32,  33. 

^  This  same  diphthong  is  the  result  of  a^+  mouill^  cons.,  as  in  baUii'K 
(bataille):  bataliam,  etc.  The  form  fai'f  (faisshe):  faciam  should  be 
noted,  and  also  pljai'fl  (pUaignent) :  plangunt,  with  kravn  (craignent) : 

TBEMUNT. 

^  CADET  gives  also  the  form  ki'e  or  kje  (quiet). 
■^  Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  43. 


22  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

final  nasal  into  aa"  (»a"  or  a"")/  this  development  into  a"  may- 
be considered  exceptional ;  /  and  j  (or  ^•),  requiring  a  forward 
position  of  the  tongue,  as  does  also  a%  may  thus  prevent  the 
change  into  aa%  i.  e.,  a"  would  be  dropped  in  order  to  avoid 
the  effect  of  two  forward  sounds  so  near  each  other.  A  dif- 
ferent explanation  of  this  result  is  given  further  on.^ 


II. —  a'  in  closed  syllable, 

§  7. —  a'-\-  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

In  this  position,  a'  remains  without  change.  Examples : 
gra  (gr^) :  crassum,  hwarar^  (couarage) :  C0RAGiUM,^a  (p^) : 
PASSUM,  vah  (vaque)  :  VACCAM,  vol  (val) :  vallum,  etc. 

§  8. —  k-\-  a'-\-  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

This  combination  forms  no  exception  to  the  rule  just  given; 
a'  remains.  Examples :  ha  (ca') :  cattum,  hart  (carte) :  char- 
tan,  farm  (char me) :  carmen,  etc. 

§  9. ariuTriy  -ariam. 

As  a  resume  of  the  discussion  on  these  endings  is  given  by 
Suchier,^  there  is  no  need  of  dwelling  upon  it  here.  The  result, 
in  our  patois,  is  -re'(r)  and  -e.  The  examples  are  drf^ve 
(dangler) :  *DOMi]sriARiUM,  mdni'er  (menniere) :  manuariam, 
prumi'e  (prumier) :  primarium,  rivi'er  (riviere) :  *ripariam, 
and,  for  the  product  e,  pane  (panne)  :  panarium,  sole  (sole)  : 
solarium.  For  the  reduction  of  re'  to  e,  in  the  last  exam- 
ples, there  seems  to  be  no  perfectly  satisfactory  explanation.^ 

»  V.  g  3.  «  V.  §  37,  2.  '''  V.  Frang.,  p.  27. 

*  Cf.  this  phenomenon  with  the  change  of  intervocalic  A  into  I,  ^  153,  1, 
and  of  intervocalic  fl  into  n,  §  166.  The  reduction  of  the  diphthong  ie  is 
an  Anglo-Norman  characteristic,  cf.  §  4,  p.  20,  note  3. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND   DIALECT.  23 


§  10. —  a'-\-  cons.  -j-^. 

Three  peculiar  products  must  be  mentioned  here :  fra:z 
(Mse) :  *FRASEAM,  pljef  (pll^che) :  plateam  and  mnif 
(m'niche) :  *minaciam.  fra:z  (frase)  may  have  developed 
from  an  etymon  having  a' -|- cons.  +  cons.,  the  second  con- 
sonant not  being  an  j,  or  the  diphthong  a'r  may  have 
existed  in  this  word  formerly,  the  r  being  absorbed  later 
by  the  forward  consonant  z} 

§  11. —  a'-f  Jc  -\-  cons. 

This  combination  is  noted  in  two  words :  b  (lait) :  lactem 
and  brm  (lerme) :  lacrimam  ;  the  former  is  the  same  as  in 
French  proper,  the  latter  comes  from  an  older  form  lairmeJ^ 

§  12. —  a'+  nasal  +  cons. 

The  result  is  »".  Examples :  'oyje  (amplle) :  amplum, 
avoy  (sivhnche) :  ab  4-*antiam,  ftra^'A;  (branque):  brancam, 
e/b**  (ef  ant) :  infanteM,  ^r»"  (grand)  :  grandem,  hv^k  (h^n- 
que) :  ANCAM,  kT?""  (quant) :  quantum,  ^»"  (t^nt) :  tantum. 

§  13. —  k  -\-  a^-\-  nasal  -f-  cons. 

A  new  division  need  scarcely  be  made  for  this  combination, 
since  the  result  is  the  same  as  when  a  k  does  not  precede  the 
a'.  Examples :  k'o''  (camp) :  campum,  /»''  (chant) :  cantum, 
yb"6r  (ch^mbre)  :  gamer  am,  foH  (chante) :  cantat. 

^Ct.frdise,  braise  in  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  16. 

^V.  Meyer-Liibke,  Oram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  235,  g  257;  cf.  also  Suchier, 
Frang.,  p.  43,  and  Paris,  Alexis,  pp.  38  and  73.  The  k  may  have  had 
some  influence  on  the  preceding  a^  in  mdrk  (merque) :  Germ,  mark;  it 
is  well,  however,  in  this  connection,  to  remember  the  frequent  inter- 
change of  a  and  »  before  r. 


24  E.   8.   LEWIS. 


I. —  e'  in  open  syllable. 

§  14. —  e'+ oral  cons. -f  voc, 
e'-\-  mute  +  liquid. 

(1)  One  of  the  results  of  e',  in  this  position,  is  e,  or,  under 
the  influence  of  a  following  /  or  r,  9;^  there  is  absolutely  no 
trace  of  an  i-sound  after  this  e.  Examples :  ber  (beire) : 
BIBERE,  bur^e  (bourgeais)  :  burgensem,  dsdsper  (d'sesper)  :  ^ 
SPERARE,  9fre  (effr6)  :  *effridare,  etel  (^teile)  :  stelam,  fe 
(f6) :  FIDEM,  krer  (craire) :  credere,  me  (me,  mei) ;  me,  me 
(meis)  :  mensem,  pare  (paret) :  *paretem,  parfe  (parfeis)  : 
VICEM,  pe  (peis) :  *pisum,  pevr  (peivre) :  piper,  se  (seit) : 
SEAT,  se  (set)  :  SITIM,  se;  (seie) :  setam,  tel  (telle) :  telam,  tre 
(treis)  :  tres,  ve:  (veie) :  viAM,  yel  (veile)  :  velam.  For  the 
influence  of  /  and  r,  we  have  av9i^  (aver) :  habere,  dv9r 
(d'ver) :  debere,  fjd'blje  (fieblle)  :  flebilem,  htr  (lettre)  : 
LITTERAM,  mjdtr  (mettre) :  mittere,  nar  (ner) :  nigrum,  pdl 
(pel) :  PILUM,  pdr  (pere) :  pirum,  sawr  (saver) :  *sapere, 
sdr  (ser)  :  serum,  vdr  (ver)  :  videre,  vdr  (vere)  :  verum. 

(2)  Whenever  the  final  r  is  dropped  in  the  pronunciation 
of  sdr  (ser),  the  e  becomes  closed,  as  in  the  expression  osese 
(^  ce  s^),  equivalent  to  the  French  "ce  soirj^  Attention 
should  be  called  to  the  accented  stems  ^  in  the  present  indi- 
cative of  the  four  verbs  from  credere,  bibere,  debere, 
VIDERE.  The  first  and  last  verbs  are  perfectly  regular,  and 
have  e  in  all  of  these  four  persons :  hre  (creis),  hre  (creis),  hre 
(creit),  hre:  (creient) ;  ve  (veis),  ve  (veis),  ve  (veit),  ve:  (veient)  ; 
not  so,  however,  with  the  other  two,  which  have  a  in  the  first 

^  e  +  ^or  r)  +  voc.  does  not  always  become  a :  it  may  remain  e ;  e,  how- 
ever, gives  a  only  when  followed  by  I  or  r. 

^desssper  (d^sesper)  and  ms^sper  (m'sesper)  are  also  heard.  Although  of 
no  consequence,  it  might  be  observed  that  some  Guernsey  writers  spell  all 
the  examples  given  above  with  ai,  instead  of  ei. 

^  These  include  the  three  persons  of  the  singular,  and  the  third  person 
plural. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE   AND   DIALECT.  25 

and  second  persons  singular  and  lengthen  it,  but  make  no 
change  in  the  quantity  of  the  third  person  plural :  hd:  (beis), 
hd:  (beis),  he  (beit),  hev  (beivent) ;  dd:  (deis),  dd:  (deis),  de  (deit), 
dev  (deivent).  May  not  the  length  of  the  first  two  persons  be 
owing  to  the  influence  of  the  following  s  (originally  in  the 
second  person  only),  which  has  since  dropped  ? 

(3)  At  the  beginning  of  this  paragraph,  it  was  stated  that 
no  i-sound  was  heard  after  the  e  in  an  open  syllable,  and  it  is 
to  be  noticed  that  this  statement  holds  true  even  when  e' 
is  followed  by  a  Z;  in  Latin,  as  in  al'plje  (empll^):  implicare, 
fe  (feis) :  vicem.  Eggert,^  misled  by  the  orthography,  says 
that  Latin  e(I)  gives  ei  in  Guernsey,  in  such  words  as  seie 
(;Setam),  feis  (:fidem),  mei  (:me),  veie  (:viam)  ;  the  fact  is 
that  no  i-sound  is  heard  after  e  in  these  words.  The  spelling 
with  i  is  no  doubt  due,  at  least  with  the  Guernsey  writers,^  to 
the  fact  that  these  words,  in  French  proper,  are  spelt  with  an 
i :  Uoile,  moisy  etc. 

(4)  This  e  is  also  met  with  as  coming  from  Latin  e  +  oral 
cons,  in  closed  syllable,^  and  from  E  -\-  k  in  closed  syllable.'* 
In  French  proper,  Latin  e  first  gave  6^,^  which  became  oi  in 
the  13th  century,  and  oa  in  Palsgrave's  time  (1530).^  The 
Norman  retained  the  diphthong  ei,"^  which  was  reduced  to  e 
already  in  Old  Anglo-Norman  texts,^  a  reduction  found  in  the 
Franco-Norman  patois  since  the  16th  century,^  usually  with 
a  closed  e ;  in  the  Hague,  the  diphthong  a'e'  is  also  heard.^® 

^  Cf.  Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  378  :  "  Jn  den  Patois  des  Westens  hat  sich 
ei  zum  Theil  noch  erhalten ; "  he  then  cites  the  examples  given  above,  and 
indicates  them  as  coming  from  Guernsey. 

^  These  writers  especially  are  mentioned,  since  they  have  no  orthographi- 
cal traditions  to  follow,  a  statement  that  probably  would  not  be  true  of 
authors  on  the  continent. 

3  V.  §  20.  *Y.  ^21.  ^Suchier,  Frang.,  pp.  29  and  50. 

^Idem,  p.  53.  '  Idem.,  pp.  50  and  82,  83. 

^  Suchier,  Reimp.,  p.  xvii,  4 ;  also  Suchier,  St.  Auban,  p.  3. 

^Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  378;  Joret,  Ext.,  pp.  109,  110;  Joret,  Besdn, 
p.  222,  1°;  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  34. 

^^Cf.  this  diphthong  aV  with  a^i'  in  Guernsey  from  e^-f- nasal  (§  17, 1) 
ande^^+^(g81). 


26  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

In  Guernsey,  only  the  closed  pronunciation  is  heard,  which 
would  separate  this  island  from  the  Hague,  but  would  bring 
it  nearer  to  the  Bessin. 

(5)  Another  development  of  e'  in  open  syllable  is  we' ,  as 
observed  in  the  following  examples :  ho^su'er  (bonsouair) : 
SERUM,  dvwer  (dVouair) :  debere,  dspwer  (espouair) :  spe- 
RARE,  fwe  (foue) :  fldem,  kuvwet  (couvouaite) :  *cupidita, 
Iwe  (louai) :  legem,  manwer  (manouair) :  manere,  patwe 
(patouais) :  Vpat,  perwe:  (perou^e) :  praedem,  puvwer  (pou- 
vouair) :  *potere,  rwe  (rouai) :  regem,  rvwer  (rVouair) : 
VLDERE,  savwer  (savouair) :  *sapere,  swe  (souet) ;  seat, 
su'e:  (souaie)  :  setam,  surkerwe  (surkerouet)  :  crescere,  vwe 
(vouai) :  vides.  We  also  have  the  two  products  re'  and  w 
exemplified  in  a  few  words :  asi'e  (assi^') :  sedere,  muvi'e 
(mouvier)  :  movere,  puvi'e  (pouvier)  :  *potere,  vuli'e  (vou- 
lier):  *volere;  and  also pcez  (peuse) :  pensat,  sa?;cer  (saveur) : 
*sapere/  This  variety  of  result  (e,  9,  we',  i'e'  and  ce)  is 
heard  all  over  the  island,  and  no  single  development  is  charac- 
teristic of  any  one  Parish.  As  may  be  observed  from  the  exam- 
ples, e  and  a  are  the  most,  and  ce  is  the  least,  common  of  these 
products.  A  few  words  represent  more  than  one  development 
and,  for  the  sake  of  ready  reference,  are  tabulated  as  follows : 

i'e'  oe 


e,  e 

we' 

fe 

fwe 

86 

swe 

se: 

swe: 

ve 

vwe 

dvdr 

dvwer 

sav9r 

savwer 

vdr 

rvwer 

puvi'e 


savoer 


The  forms  in  the  first  column  (under  6,  a)  are,  by  far,  the  most 
used,  excepting  the  last  four,  which  differ  in  development 

^  PERCIPUNT  >  apoerf  (apeurchent),  showing  a  like  product. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND   DIALECT.  27 

according  to  the  meaning :  dwr,  sawr^  vdr  being  used  as  regu- 
lar infinitives,  and  dvwer^  savwer,  rvwePy  puvwer  as  substan- 
tives ;  for  example,  iu  vas  V  ver^  i'faut  saver  chunna,  but  ch^est 
ten  d^vouair,  au  r^vouair. 

(6)  we'  represents  the  stage  just  before  the  Modern  French 
wa?  ce  is  common  in  the  Eastern  dialects  of  France  ^  and  is 
observed  in  sen  (<  sitim),  a  word  Meyer-Ltibke  considers 
curious,^  because  found  in  a  Norman  dialect. 

§  15. —  e'H- final  vowel. 

As  difiering  from  the  general  rule  given  in  the  last  para- 
graph, attention  should  be  called  to  four  verbs  which  have  i: 
in  the  third  person  singular  of  the  present  indicative :  a'^vi: 
(envie) :  vllre,  a/n;  (effrie) :  *effridare,  Tiati:  (nettie) : 
NITIDUM,  ra^'vi:  (renvie) :  viare.'* 

§  16. —  ^  +  e'-f  oral  cons.  +  voc. 

e'  here  becomes  i.  Examples  :  marsi  (merci)  :  mercedem, 
pjezi  (pllalsi):  placere,  fir  (chire):  ceram.  The  result  i 
presupposes  an  earlier  stage  iei{jei)y  as  it  does  in  French 
proper.® 

§  17. —  6'-f-  nasal  +  voc. 

(1)  e'>  a'i%  a  result  similar  to  that  of  a'  in  this  position.^ 
Examples :  alai'n  (halaine) :  anhelare,  avai'n  (avaine) :  ave- 
NAM,  dmai'n  (d'maine) :  dominium,  krai'm  (craime) :  *crema, 
pai'n  (paine)  :  poenam,  vai'n  (vaine) :  yen  am,  vdrvai'n  (ver- 
vaine) :  verbenam.  This  development  may  be  influenced  by 
that  of  a'  (-|-  nasal  +  voc.)  into  a'i',  but  it  may  also  represent 
the  Norman  characteristic  of  changing  ei  into  ai^  by  which  pro- 

^  Meyer-Liibke,  Oram.  Eom.,  I,  p.  96,  §  72. 

« Idem,  p.  100  ff.  *  Cf.  Schwan,  Gram.,  §  85. 

3/dm,p.  99,  §74.  «V.  §2,  L 

*  Notice  purki  (pourqui)  :  quid.  ''Y.  ^1,2. 


28  E.   8.   LEWIS. 

cess  could  also  be  explained  the  forms  lai'zir  (laisir) :  licere/ 
joaf  so"  (paisson) :  PISCEM^andma^•n^^(malnti):  medietatem.* 
(2)  mcen  (meune) :  minat  and  its  compounds  amoen  (ameune), 
dmcen  (d'meune),  purmoen  (pourmeune)  form  exceptions  to  the 
rule,  the  labial  m  having  rounded  the  following  e, 

§  18. —  e'+ final  nasal. 

(1)  e'>  aV,  for  which  the  pronunciation  in  the  different 
Parishes  of  Guernsey  varies  in  the  same  way  as  for  aV  < 
a'+  final  nasal.*  Examples  :  frod''  (frain)  :  frenum,  pljod"" 
(pllain) :  plenum,  etc. 

(2)  MINUS  gives  three  results :  mad''  (maens),  mwa''  (mouens), 
mwad^  (mouaens);  according  to  Schwan,^  this  development 
comes  from  the  Eastern  dialects. 

§  19. —  h  -{-  e'-\-  final  nasal. 

The  product  is  9".  Examples :  pwafd""  (pouasshin)  :  pul- 
licenum,  rezd''  (raisin)  :  racenum. 

II. —  e'  in  closed  syllable. 
§  20. —  e'+  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

We  have  here  two  results,  one  where  e  remains,  the  other 
where  it  becomes  a.  Eggert  ^  states  that  in  the  Norman  dia- 
lects Latin  e(1)  in  closed  syllable  usually  gives  e,  sometimes 
eif  but  he  does  not  mention  whether  this  e  is  closed  or  open, 
or  both.  Examples :  for  6,  dvek  (ev^ue) :  episcopum,  mefni 
(mime) :  metipsimum,  mere\  (mereille) :  mirabilia,  ne:  (n6e) : 
NiviCARE.  For  a,  a^'sdn  (ensigne)  :  insignat,  hf'sdl  (consel)  : 
consilium,  vdrg  (vergues) :  viRGAS.  a,  as  heard  in  the  second 
list  of  examples  just  given,  is  doubtless  a  later  development  of  e.'^ 


'V.  ^81.                          ^V.  |89. 

^  Oram.,  I  86,  Anm. 

'V.  |85.                          "V.  §3, 1. 

«  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  380. 

'Cf.  Suchier,  Fran^.,  p.  50,  §  19. 

GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  29 

§  21.— e'+^  +  cons. 

We  have  here  the  single  result  e.  Examples :  al^dre  (en- 
drait) :  in  +  directum,  de  (daigt) :  digitum,  detr  (deltre) : 
DEXTRAM,  dre  (dret) :  directum,  dsplje  (espllait) :  explici- 
TUM,  orte  (ortet)  :  articulum.  rai'n  (raine) :  reginam  is  an 
exception,  and  may  have  been  formed  by  analogy  to  such 
words  as  ahvn  (halaine) :  anhelare,  pai'n  (paine) :  poe- 
NAM,  etc.,  where  e  is  in  open  syllable.^ 

§22.-e'+;i. 

Two  examples  of  verbs  in  the  third  person  singular  have 
been  found,  showing  the  result  i :  evi\  (^ville) :  *exvigiliat, 
h)^dX  (consille) :  *consiliat.  The  pronunciation  of  \  has 
no  doubt  drawn  the  tongue  further  forward  and  higher  in  the 
mouth,  with  the  effect  of  changing  the  mid-vowel  e  into  the 
high-vowel  i. 

§  23. —  e'-\-  nasal  +  cons. 

e'>  a%  a  result  that  separates  it  from  a'-\-  nasal  in  closed 
syllable,  which  becomes  if^?  Examples  :  a"  (en)  :  inde,  aHr 
(entre)  :  intrat,  fa'^dr  (fendre) :  findere,  pra'^dr  (prendre)  : 
prehendere,  suva"^  (souvent) :  subinde,  and,  finally,  all 
adverbs  ending  in  -ma''  (-ment)  :  mente,  which  are  generally 
treated,  in  Romance  languages,  as  if  from  Latin  e. 

a. 

I. —  a'  in  open  syllable. 

§  24. —  a'+  oi'al  cons.  +  voc, 
a'+  mute  +  liquid. 

(1)  The  result  is  generally  i9%  a  form  that  is  older  than 
the  Modern  French  ie.  Examples :  Jbr  (fier) :  ferum,  i9r 
(hier)  :  here,  mial  (miel):  MEL;^^i;r  (fi^vre):  febrem,  lidvr 

1 V.  ^  17,  1.  2  V.  g  12.  3  cf.  also  6ir(bire) :  M.  H.  G.  bier. 


30  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

(li^vre) :   leporem,  pidr  (pierre) :   petram.     A  closed  e  is 
heard  in  jiel  (fieil) :  fel,  siel  (cieil) :  caelum. 

(2)  These  same  products  {h'  and  ie')  are  also  found  under 
other  headings.^  In  Modern  French  the  pronunciation  varies 
according  to  position.^  In  the  Hague  patois  this  e  is  open,^ 
but  it  is  closed  in  that  of  the  Bessin.*  Guernsey  shows  the 
same  rule  as  French  proper,  excepting  in  fiel  (fieil),  siel  (cieil), 
in  sie^  (si^ge)^  and  in  the  result  from  the  -ariam  termination 
(>  -iVr),^  where,  according  to  the  French  rule,  the  e  should 
be  open,  preceding  as  it  does  a  pronounced  consonant.  We 
find  no  traces,  in  Guernsey,  of  the  Anglo-Norman  reduction 
of  ie  to  e,  and  sometimes  to  i/  excepting  perhaps  in  the  word 
pi  (pid) :  pedem,  and  in  amiljorasjo''  (amilioration),  etc.,® 
where  9  is  subtonic.  In  pi  (pid),  however,  the  diphthong  ia' 
may  have  been  reduced  to  i  because  of  the  frequent  atonic 
position  of  this  word. 

(3)  In  a  few  forms,  9  >  o?  under  the  influence  of  a  labial, 
either  following  or  preceding :  kwoey^  (queure) :  quaerere, 
loev  (leuve) :  lev^t  and  its  compounds  eloev  (eleuve),  rioev 
(r'leuve). 

§  25. —  d'-j-  k  (or  g)  +  voc. 

(1)  The  development  of  a'  into  r,  in  this  position,  is  similar 
to  that  of  9'  (+  ^  +  voc.)  in  French  proper.  Examples  :  dis 
(dix) :  DECEM,  pri:  (prie) :  precat,  etc.  There  are  however 
exceptions,  in  which  9'  (+  5')  >  ^^',  as  if  no  g  followed  :  a"pw 
(empiere) :  impejorat,  liar  (Here) :  legere,  pidr  (piere) : 
*PEJOREM,  and  for  which  a  reasonable  explanation  would  be 
that  they  were  influenced   by  such    words   as  sidr  (siere)  : 

SEQUERE.^ 

^  V.  ^  30,  1,  and  also  the  terminations  -arium,  -ariam,  §  9. 

^  Suchier,  Frang.y  p.  55.  ^  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  35. 

•»  Joret,  Bessin,  p.  222,  2\  »  V.  g  30,  1,  y.  « y  g  9^ 

'Suchier,  Eeimp.,  p.  xvi,  1;  Gorlich,  Mak.,  p.  xliii,  and  Busch,  Ang.- 
Norm.,  pp.  33,  34.    V.,  however,  §  4,  p.  20,  note  3. 

®  V.  ?  89 ;  compare  these  forms  with  words  such  as  primer,  Alisandre  found 
in  Anglo-Norman  texts  (Gorlich,  Mak,  p.  xlv). 

«V.  §32. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  31 

(2)  We  have  just  seen  that  ?'+  ^  >  *  or  h';  we  shall  also 
find  the  product  ie\^  In  Old  and  Modern  French,  9'  in  these 
cases  develops  into  ie,  which,  with  a  following  i,  is  reduced  to 
i.^  In  the  modern  Norman  patois,  the  result  varies.  Eggert^ 
gives  the  following  table  for  the  Manche,  which  can  be  com- 
pared with  the  results  in  Guernsey  : 


i^ei  —  ie  (North  Manche), 


&  -\-i  —  iei 


4e'i  ^v— — e'i  —  a  (Avranchin), 
ie'  (South  Cotentin). 

Joret  ^  shows  that  the  modern  Norman  dialects  can  be  divided 
into  two  sections  :  those  of  the  East,  which  agree  with  Modern 
French  in  having  i,  and  those  of  the  West,  where  i^  (or  i^)  is 
usually  the  result.  We  can  thus  see  that  our  development 
is  similar  to  that  in  the  whole  of  the  Manche,  but  especially 
to  that  in  the  Hague ;  our  patois  is,  however,  separated  from 
the  latter  in  the  development  of  vidr  (vier) :  veculum  and 
lidr  (liere).*^  Our  result  mu  (mtix) :  melius  is,  however,  very 
similar  to  mti&  of  the  Hague.^ 

§  26.— a' +  final  nasal. 

9'  changes  into  Ja".  Examples  :  hjaJ"  ^  (bien)  :  bene,  mja* 
(mien) :  meum,^  r/a"  (rien) :  rem,  §'a"  (tien) :  *teum,®  ^*a" 
(tient) :  tenet,  vja''  (vient) :  venit.  d'  is  drawn  back  to  a 
because  of  the  nasalization,  but  it  is  not  certain  whether  this 
is  what  E-omdahP  means  by  the  "  gutturalization  ^'  of  the 

^Qi.U  30  and  31.  ^  Suchier,  Fran^.,  p.  30. 

'^  Norm.  Mund.,  pp.  371,  372. 

*  Melanges,  pp.  xxiv,  xxv  and  55-57  ;  cf.  also  Meyer-Lubke,  Oram.  Bom^f 
I,  p.  161,  §  159. 

^  vdSs  and  luSre  in  the  Hague ;  v.  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  35. 

^  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  35. 

^  I  have  occasionally  heard  the  pronunciation  ft/a"  or  6ra". 

^The  feminine  of  mja"  and  ijo^  is  mja:n  (mienne)  and  tja:n  (tienne) 

^V./^aire,  pp.  10  ff. 


32  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

vowels.  He  writes  that  gatturalization  and  nasalization  *  are 
characteristics  of  the  vowels  of  the  Val  de  Saire ;  the  question 
is  whether  he  would  say  that  a'  (+  nasal)  in  Guernsey  was 
"  gutturalized,"  a  phenomenon  that  would  point  to  some  lin- 
guistic relation  between  these  two  places. 

II. —  a'  in  closed  syllable. 
§  27. —  a'+  oral  cons.  -|-  cons. 

(1)  Just  as  we  noted  two  results  for  e'  in  this  position,^  so 
we  find  that  a'  becomes  sometimes  e,  sometimes  9.^  Examples : 
for  e,  pel  (pel) :  pellem,  tet  (t^te)  :  testam,  sitern  (citerne)  : 
CISTERNAM ;  for  a,  bdl  (bel) :  ^  bellum,  nuvdl  (nouvelle) : 
NOVELLAM,  pdvdr  (perdre) :  perdere. 

(2)  dvbr  (d'viers)  :  versus  forms  an  exception,  its  a'  hav- 
ing developed  as  if  it  were  in  open  syllable.  The  preceding 
labial  consonant  may  have  influenced  the  a  in  apwl  (appeule)  : 
APPELLAT  and  rapoel  (rappeule),  causing  it  to  become  ce.^ 

§  28. ellum. 

(1)  This  termination  becomes  e.  Examples :  ane  (anie)  : 
ANELLUM,/itr9ie  (foum^) :  furnum,  hute  (coute) :  cultellum, 
maHe  (mante) :  mantellum,  marte  (mart 6)  :  martellum, 
morse  (mors6) :  *morsellum,  'purje  (pourche) :  porcellum, 
rnuve  (r'nouve) :  renovellum,  ruse  (rus6) :  \/mj-^  sdrve 
(cerv6) :  cerebellum,  fape  (chap6) :  capellum,  tware  (tou- 
are) :  taurum,  tune  (tounne) :  O.  H.  G.  tunna.  In  the 
plural,  these  words  change  e  to  jo,  and  we  thus  hawefurnjo, 
kutjoy  maHjo,  etc.^    The  probable  explanation  of  these  results 

1  Cf.  Joret,  Melanges,  p.  xvi.  «  V.  ^  20. 

'  Would  it  be  better  to  state  that  d^  remains  9  ?  Or  does  d^  first  become  e, 
which  afterwards  returns  to  the  open  pronunciation  d  ? 

''Heard  in  the  expression  ifdhU  (i'  fait  bel),  for  the  French  '^ilfait  beau." 

6Cf.ni9  and  NOTE. 

^  The  plural  aflo  is  only  an  apparent  exception,  since  it  represents  afijOf 
in  which  the  j  has  been  absorbed  by  the  preceding  n. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  3S 

is  that,  in  the  singular  -ellum,  the  a'  followed  the  law  for  9' 
in  closed  syllable/  and  therefore  become  e,  the  final  I  dis- 
appearing in  the  pronunciation,  whereas,  in  the  plural  -ellos, 
a7  (+  cons.)  >  9al  >  aau  >  ia'u  >  ro'  ^jo. 

(2)  Two  words  form  exceptions  to  this  development,  and 
have  Jo  in  the  singular,^ Jo;  in  the  plural;  hjo  (biau) :  bel- 
LUM,^  vjo  (viau)  :  vitellum,  and,  for  the  plural,  bjo:  (biaux), 
vjo:  (viaux). 

(3)  Let  us  compare  these  developments,  in  the  singular  and 
the  plural,  with  those  in  France  and  in  Normandy.  In  Old 
French,  the  combination  a^ early  became  eal  and  eau^  (/becom- 
ing vowelized  before  the  12th  century);'^  e,  before  aw,  was 
mute  by  the  14th  century,^  and  an  was  pronounced  0  in  the 
17th  century.^  Joret^  has  already  so  carefully  examined 
the  various  results  of  -ellum  in  the  modern  Norman  dia- 
lects, that  nothing  can  be  added.  On  comparison,  we  note 
that  the  Guernsey  developments  -e,  -jo  correspond  to  those  of 
the  Basse  Normandie  in  the  singular,  and  of  Eastern  Nor- 
mandy in  the  plural,  excepting  for  the  two  words  hjo  and  vjo 
which  represent,  both  for  the  singular  and  the  plural,  the 
same  change  as  in  the  Eastern  half  of  Normandy.  This 
difference  between  Guernsey  and  that  part  of  Normandy 
nearest  to  it,  is  very  curious,  but  our  patois  probably  repre- 
sents, for  this  termination  at  least,  the  Old  Norman  dialect 
more  correctly  than  do  the  other  modern  Norman  patois, 
since,  in  the  Makkabder,  -el  is  the  direct  product  of  -ellum, 
becoming  -eaiis  however  before  the  flectional  s;®  a  further 
resemblance  is  observed  in  the  development,  in  the  Makha- 

1  V.  ^  27, 1.  '  Cf.  hi-otai-  (biautai). 

'  Cf.  -pjo  (piau) :  pellem.        *  Meyer-Liibke,  Oram.  Rom.,  I,  pp.  163-164, 

*Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  43;  Schwan,  Oram.,  II  231  and  329. 

^Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  51. 

^  Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  53,  where,  however,  the  «  is  said  to  be  retained,  in 
the  pronunciation  of  such  words  as  beau,  until  the  17th  century. 

^ExL,  pp.  110-112;  cf.  Joret,  Beadn,  p.  222,  3o;  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  35, 
and  Meyer-Liibke,  Gram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  164,  §  163. 

*  Gorlich,  Mak.,  pp.  xv,  xvi. 
3 


34  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

hder^  of  bellum  into  heau  (not  hel),  an  exceptional  form  thus 
still  preserved  in  the  Guernsey  bjo  for  the  singular;^  the 
singular  vjo  still  remains  unexplained,  but  it  might  be  formed 
simply  by  analogy  with  6/0,  since  both  words  are  monosyllabic. 

§  29. —  »'+  nasal  +  cons. 

(1)  The  change  into  a""  is  the  same  as  in  French  proper. 
Examples :  va""  (vent) :  ventum,  ^•rt''c?r  (vendre) :  ven- 
dere,  etc. 

(2)  dksTfpje  (exampUe) :  exemplum  is  an  exception  to 
this  rule,  but  was  also  treated  in  Old  JSTorman  as  if  it 
had  an  a'  (+  nasal  +  cons.).^ 

§  30.— a'+cons.  H-y.3 

(1)  The  result  is  here  fourfold,  being  jd,  je,  ie',  i,  which 
represent  four  successive  stages  in  the  development  of  a'(+ 
cons.  -\-j)'  The  following  examples,  in  the  order  respectively 
of  the  products  just  noted,  were  found  ; 

(a)  hjdd  (qui^de) :  tepidum,  vjdj^  (nieche) :  *neptiam, 
rmjdd  ^  (r'miede)  :  remedium. 

(/3)   mekje  (m^quier) :  ministerium. 

(7)   mie  (mi6)  :  medium,  siej  (si^ge) :  sedicum. 

(3)  efpis  (epice) :  *speciam,  pri  (prix) :  pretium,  Jliz 
(ch'lise):  *ceresiam. 

(2)  The  differences  in  the  first  three  sets  are  owing  simply 
to  the  law  of  least  action,  or  of  naturalness  :  when  d'  is  final, 
it  is  likely  to  become  closed,  as  in  mekje  and  mie,  and  under 
the  influence  of  a  preceding  h,  i  would  tend  to  be  consonant- 

*  Cf.  Uhlemann,  La  Conception  und  St.  Nicholas,  p.  76,  §  37,  1. 

*  Cf.  Suchier,  Beimp.,  p.  71 :  "  Zu  diesen  Worten  "  (words  with  en)  "  kommt 
EXEMPLUM,  welches  im  Normannischen  stets  a  hat ; "  also  Gorlich,  Mak^ 
p.  xvi,  26,  and  Meyer-Liibke,  Gram,  Bom.,  I,  p.  110,  §  90. 

*  'For  convenience  sake,  some  examples  are  given  under  this  heading, 
which  do  not  strictly  belong  here. 

*  Or  ni'9f.  *  Or  rmi'dd,  or  even  rmi'ed. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  36 

ized,  as  is  seen  in  hjdd  and  mekje,  epis  probably  comes 
directly  from  French  proper ;  pri  and  fliz  have  the  same 
development  as  in  Modern  French.^ 

§  31.— 9'+ A;  +  cons. 

The  result  is  ie'.  Examples :  depie  (depiet) :  despectum  and 
lie^  (liet):  lectum.^ 

§  32.— a'+^i^. 

The  only  word  with  this  combination  is  sidr  (si^re) :  sequere, 
and  its  derivative  siet  (siMe). 

i 

I. —  ^'  in  open  syllable. 
§  33. —  -i'-}-  cons.  +  voc. 

(1)  The  result  here  agrees  with  that  in  French  proper,  and 
need  not  be  dwelt  upon.  Examples :  ^  (fi) :  filtjm,  livr 
(livre) :  librum,  fiv  (rive)  :  ripam,  vnir  (v'nir) :  venire, 
etc.    This  same  result  is  observed  in  all  the  Norman  dialects.* 

(2)  The  Guernsey  patois  agrees  with  French  proper  also 
in  the  development  of  i'  +  final  nasal,  as  in  /»"  (fin) : 
FINEM,  va"  (vin) :  vinum,  etc. 

§  34. —  ^'+  nasal  -j-  voc. 

(1)  The  i'  here  becomes  e'*',  but  with  a  very  weak  i-sound.* 
Examples:  epei'n  (^pine) :  8PiNAM,/m*ri  (Prine):  farinam, 

'  V.  Schwan,  Oram.,  U  91,  2  and  92. 

^  The  pronunciation  lj9t  is  frequently  heard  all  over  the  island ;  the  plural 
is  li:  (lits).  tectum  cannot  help  us  here,  as  it  has  not  given  anything  in 
Guernsey. 

^Cf.  the  feminine  viel  (vielle) :  ^veculam;  under  the  influence  of  the 
r,  from  final  M  (v.  |  154,  2),  we  have  the  pronunciation  vi^r  (vier)  in 
the  masculine. 

^Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  380;  also  Joret,  Bemn,  p.  223. 

^  Cf.  Meyer-Liibke,  Gram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  62. 


36  E.  S.   LEWIS. 

krei'm  (crime)  :  ckimejs^,  mdd/ei'n  (medchine)  :  medicinam, 
rajei'n  (rachtne) :  radicinam,  rei'm  (lime) :  rimam,  rwei'n 
(ruine) :  ruinam,  fei'm  (chime) :  cymam.^  In  such  words  as 
these,  the  position  of  the  tongue  for  the  production  of  i  has 
been  lowered  to  that  required  by  e,  under  the  influence  of  the 
following  nasal,  whether  dental  or  labial. 

(2)  The  same  development  is  seen  with  ^,  in  closed  syllable, 
in  abei'm  (abime)  :  abismum.^ 

(3)  In  French,  i'  {-\-  nasal  -f  voc.)  remained  a  pure  oral 
vowel  because  the  nasalization  of  i  into  a"  took  place  after 
the  intervocalic  n  had  any  power  to  nasalize  the  preceding 
vowel.^  In  the  Bessin,  i  before  a  nasal  +  voc.  becomes  e, 
but  apparently  without  any  following  ^-sound;*  in  the  Val 
de  Saire,  it  becomes  e  before  n  and  d  before  m.^  In  Guern- 
sey, we  have  the  result  e'r  before  both  n  and  m. 

§  35.-— final  i'. 

(1)  Meyer-Liibke^  notes  that  final  i'  is  often  pronounced 
open  in  the  Hague ;  in  Guernsey,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  always 
closed,  as  in  berbi  (berbi) :  *berbicem:,  etc. 

(2)  The  final  i'  is  frequently  nasalized  in  Norman  patois, 
and  in  many  other  dialects,  the  result  being  such  forms  as 
ami^y  veni"",  etcJ  In  Guernsey,  this  nasalization  is  heard  only 
in  the  following  cases,  as  far  as  could  be  ascertained :  i/a" 
(ichin) :  ECCE  +  Hic,  Icrm'^z^  (k'minse)  and  hm^zol^  (k'min- 
sole) :  CAMisiAM,  osa"  (aussin) :  Val  +  sic,  /osy^"  (chunchin) : 

^  M^tivier  and  Corbet  both  agree  in  representing  this  eH'  by  I. 
'Cf.  Meyer-Liibke,  Oram.  Rom.^  I,  p.  68,  where  mention  is  made  of  a 
Norman  form  abieme. 
'  Meyer-Liibke,  Oram.  Bom.,  I,  pp.  62,  63. 

*  Joret,  Bessin,  p.  223. 

*  Bomdahl,  Saire,  glossary ;  Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  382. 

*  Oram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  67. 

'Cf.  Meyer-Lubke,  Oram.  Bom.,  1,  p.  66,  §  40. 

^  In  hn9^z  and  hn^^zol,  i  is  not  strictly  final,  nor  even  tonic  in  the  latter 
example,  but  it  is,  however,  at  the  end  of  a  syllable. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  37 

ECCE  +  HOC.^     The  nasalized  infinitives,  like  vewi",  and  such 
words  as  ami'',  are  never  heard  in  Guernsey. 

(3)  This  nasalization  is  sometimes  heard  in  the  Bessin^  and 
in  the  Hague/  but  it  is  not  at  all  peculiar  to  these  Norman 
dialects,  since  it  occurs,  as  has  just  been  mentioned,  in  other 
parts  of  the  Romance  field. 


II. —  i'  in  closed  syllable. 
§  36. —  i'-\-  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

Since  i'  is  here  treated  as  in  Modern  French,  no  especial 
attention  need  be  called  to  these  results.  Examples  :  id  (lie) : 
INSULAM,  til  (tige) :  tibiam,  vil  (ville)  :  villam,  etc. 

§  37. —  V-\-  nasal  +  cons. 

(1)  The  development  here  into  d^  is  the  same  as  in  French 
proper  :  fe"^  (liiige)  :  lineum,  etc. 

(2)  We  have  already  noted  the  five  results  a",  ^a",  »",  a'^", 
a",  as  coming  from  different  combinations.  The  various  pro- 
ducts of  the  vowels  a,  c,  and  i  +  final  nasal  will  be  discussed 
first;  these  are  a'^  {<i  h  -\-  a' -\-  final  nasal)  and  the  products 
^a",  aV'  and  9^.  In  French  proper  Latin  A  (+  final  m,  n) 
develops  into  a%  except  when  preceded  by  a  /;  or^,^  and  later 
into  e"*,  9";*^  the  last  two  developments  (e"  and  9")  are  the  same 
as  from  d'  {-\-  final  nasal).^  In  Guernsey,  the  result  a'9"  (»'»" 
or  9"),  from  a  +  final  nasal,  is  the  same  as  the  French  a"  >  6" 
>  a",  whereas  a*"  (<  ^  -f-  a  +  final  nasal)  andja"  (<  a  +  final 

^  Mention  should  be  made  here  oimm'ntV  (mainti) :  medietatem,  noticed 
in  §  89. 

**  Joret,  Bessin,  p.  223.  '  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  36. 

*8chwan,  Oram.,  U  77,  78;  Suchier,  i^ranp.,  p.  29;  Meyer-Liibke,  Oram. 
Bom.,  I,  pp.  227,  228. 

•Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  54;  Schwan,  Oram,,  §g  302  and  304. 

«Schwan,  Oram.,  §  303. 


38  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

nasal)  correspond  to  the  French  id^ ;  we  shall  see  later  that 
e(-j-  nasal  -|-  cons.)  >  a""/  and  thus  a,  when  no  ^-sound  fol- 
lowed, developed,  in  our  patois,  into  a%  without  exception,  so 
that  in  Guernsey  the  forms  moi'oJ'  (moyen),  6/a''  (bien),  etc., 
are  regular,  while  the  French  pronunciation  mwajd'',  bjY,  etc., 
is  exceptional. 

(3)  As  to  the  product  of  a  +  final  nasal,  a''  of  the  Lower 
Parishes  is  similar  to  the  a"  of  French  proper,  whereas  the 
a'a'*  (or  v^d"")  represents  the  older  French  pronunciation  aH ; 
it  is  difficult  to  tell  exactly  which  of  the  two  vowels  of  the 
diphthong  is  nasalized,  or  whether  both  are  not  perhaps  thus 
affected ;  the  transcription  a** V  (or  w"V)  may  perhaps  be 
better,  as  it  is  certainly  older.  But  few  data  can  be  found  for 
the  Norman  patois  of  the  continent ;  in  the  Bessin,  9  -{-  final 
nasal  >  iin  ^  (whatever  may  be  the  exact  value  of  this  tran- 
scription). Just  one  word  now  on  the  changes  of  i{-\-  final 
nasal),  the  same  in  Guernsey  as  in  French  proper ;  ^  3/"  of  the 
Hague  *  and  in  (=  a"")  of  the  Bessin  '^  are  related  or,  rather, 
similar  results.  The  common  pronunciation  of  the  results 
from  €  (-\-  nasal  +  cons.)  and  from  a'  and  (k  -\-)  a  (-{-  final 
nasal),  is  not  noted  in  Old  Norman  mss.,^  but  nothing 
accurate  can  be  ascertained  until  more  data  are  obtained 
both  from  the  Old  Norman  MSS.  and  from  the  modern 
Norman  patois. 

(4)  The  preceding  discussion  leaves  us  free  to  consider  now 
the  (f  from  e',  e'',  a',  a",  and  the  v''  from  a',  (Jc  -\-)  a\  a", 
when  these  vowels  are  in  a  closed  syllable  (=  voc.  +  nasal 
+  cons.). 

*Joret,  Bessin,  p.  222,  2o;  cf.  the  examples  v'i€^yne  and  tie^yne  found  in 
Fleury,  Hague,  p.  35. 

^Snchier,  Frang.,  p.  54;  also  Schwan,  Oram.,  §§96  and  299. 

*  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  36.  ^  Joret,  Bessin,  p.  223,  1°. 

®V.,  in  the  Alexis,  Eufemien:  -ier,  64,  and  JEufemien:  eristiens:  -ier,  68, 
where  the  en  must  have  a  distinct  e-sound.  Cf.  also  Suchier,  Beimp.,  p. 
xviii,  16 ;  Gorlich,  Mak.,  p.  xvii,  33,  and  p.  xliii. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  39 

(5)  In  French,  en  and  an  were  confounded  in  pronuncia- 
tion/ but  in  Norman,  and  especially  in  Anglo-Norman,  these 
two  sounds  were  kept  separate.^ 

(6)  As  for  the  modern  Norman  patois,  Suchier  states  that 
this  distinction  is  still  retained  in  the  Yal  de  Saire  and  the 
Perche ;  ^  the  result,  in  the  former  locality,  is  transcribed  an 
by  Romdahl/  In  Guernsey  we  also  find  a  distinction,  v^ 
probably  corresponding  to  the  an  just  mentioned,  but  being 
a  very  difficult  sound  to  transcribe  accurately.  Since  en  is 
pronounced  a",  as  in  French  proper,  a  natural  explanation  of 
the  present  distinction,  in  Guernsey  and  the  Val  de  Saire, 
would  be,  not  that  an  and  en  were  kept  distinct  in  these  two 
places,  but  that  they  were  confounded,  only  later  than  in 
French,  the  »"  of  to-day  being  then  a  further  development  of 
the  a  -|-  n,  to  distinguish  it,  perhaps,  from  the  pronunciation 
of  6  -f  n  as  a".^ 

(7)  The  only  example  of  e  -f-  nasal  becoming  »''  is  exbm- 
PLUM  >  dksfD^'pje  (examplle),  which  has  already  been  explained.^ 

§  38. —  gu  -\-  i'-{-  cons. 

In  rfgul  (angiile) :  anguillam,^  i'  has  been  rounded  under 
the  influence  of  the  preceding  u  (or  w),  which  itself  disappears, 
but,  as  we  see,  not  without  having  given  its  rounded  quality  to 
the  previously  unrounded  i'. 


^  Meyer-Liibke,  Oram.  Bom.,  I,  pp.  110,  111 ;  Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  81. 

*  Suchier,  Eeimp.,  pp.  69-71 ;  Gorlich,  Mat,  pp.  xvi,  26,  and  xliv ;  Paris, 
AlexiSf  pp.  36,  37  and  82,  83;  Koschwitz,  Karls  Eeise,  pp.  xxvi-xxviii; 
Gautier,  Roland,  p.  416 ;  Busch,  Ang.-Norm.,  pp.  12-14.  Cf.  Meyer-Liibke, 
Oram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  227,  g  245,  for  the  Anglo-Norman  aun,  a  result  not  found 
in  Guernsey. 

'  Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  81. 

*Romdahl,  Saire,  pp.  11,  12. 
Cf.  Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  381. 

«V.  §29,  2. 

^Cf.  a  similar  change  in  the  word  mfjai'  (suffllair) :  sibilare,  I  92,  2. 


40  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

I. —  o'  in  open  syllable. 
§  39. —  o'+  oral  cons.  +  voc. 

(1)  Of  all  the  vowels  in  the  Guernsey  dialect,  o'  presents 
the  greatest  variety  of  developments,  there  being  six  results 
from  this  one  vowel  in  open  syllable  :  ce,  u,  wo',  u'a\  a'w  and 
a' OS".  The  examples,  which  are  not  numerous,  will  be  given 
first,  arranged  in  the  above  order  of  results  : 

(a)  huloRV  (couleur)  :  colorem,  mml^jpe,  (mangeux) :  mandu- 
CATOREM,  price  (prieux)  :  pkecare.^ 

(y8) '  amur  (amour) :  amorem,  fijur  (fllour) :  florem,  gul 
(goule) :  GULAM,  liu:  (coue) :  codam,  1mm  (coume) :  quo  -f 

MODO. 

(7)  ahwor"^  (accouore) :  horam,  labu'or^  (labouor)  :  labo- 

REM. 

(8)  akwar  ^  (accouare)  :  horam,  labwar  ^  (labouar)  :  labo- 

REM. 

(e)  /aw  (chaou) :  colem.^ 

(f)  aoe'r  (haeure) :  horam,  daoe'  (daeux) :  duos,  miljace' 
(millaeux) :  meliorem,  naoe'  (naeud) :  nodum,  nvaw  (nVaeu) : 
NEPOTEM,  sace'  (saeu) :  solum,  also  adjectives  ending  in  -ace* 
(-aeux) :  -OSUM:  a^'viaw  (enviaeux),/amace*  (famaeux),  kuriaoe* 
(curiaeux),  melodiaw  (melodiaeux),  poeraoe'  (peuraeux),  cerace* 
(heuraeux),  etc.* 

(2)  A  scheme  for  the  successive  developments  from  Latin  O 
will  now  be  given,^  the  results  found  in  Guernsey  being  all 
printed  in  Italics : 

*  In  two  words,  where  the  French  has  ce,  the  Guernsey  patois  has  u :  bljii 
(bM) :  Germ,  blaw  and  the  plural  mesju  (m^itix) :  seniores. 

*  u'o^  is  heard  in  the  Lower  Parishes,  whereas  u'a^  is  the  pronunciation 
of « the  Upper  Parishes. 

^Cf.  also  A;aw  (caoup) :  COL  APHUM. 

*Cf.  also  kvace'  (k'vaeu):  CAPiLiiUM.    The  a  of  a^oe',  in  all  the  above 
examples,  is  not  very  broad,  and  is  sometimes  pronounced  almost »  (=  v^oe'). 
'For  a  discussion  of  0,  v.  Meyer-Lubke,  Oram.  Mom.,  I,  pp.  132-137. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  41 

{>  e'u*  >  CB      >  a'oer 
>  w      >  u'o    >  wo'  >  vfa' 
>oV2>£'u3>aV 

(3)  o'  first  diphthongizes  into  o'w  from  which  the  separate 
developments  spring : 

(a)  0  of  the  diphthong  o'w  is  unrounded  and  pushed  for- 
ward to  e,  and  then  this  e'w  is  reduced  to  ce,  which  is  after- 
wards diphthongized  into  a'w. 

(/8)  Here,  o'w  becomes  the  single  sound  u,  which  is  then 
diphthongized  into  u'o ;  the  accent  is  shifted  forward,  and, 
through  differentiation,  the  wo'  becomes  wa',  in  which  the  o 
has  been  unrounded. 

(7)  Or  o'w  gives  o'Wj  in  which  the  0  becomes  slightly 
unrounded  to  a  and  afterwards  still  more  so,  the  diphthong 
changing  to  a'w.  These  last  two  diphthongs  (a'w  and  a'w)^ 
and  especially  the  latter,  which  is  heard  in  Guernsey,  may 
come  directly  from  u  of  the  second  series,  as  a'ce  from  oe, 

(4)  We  have  just  noted,  in  Guernsey,  six  results  from 
Latin  o ;  there  are,  in  all,  eight  (from  0'  and  0"  not  followed 
by  a  ^  or  J)  :  o'w,  ce,  a'Wy  u,  wo',  wa' ,  o'w  and  a'w. 

(5)  In  French  proper,  ou^  eu  in  the  12th  century,  and 
the  termination  -eur  was  extended  Westward,  as  far  as  Guern- 
sey,'* where  w  is  heard  even  in  ncef  (neuches)  and  jeer  (jeur), 
and  in  the  ending  -a'oe'  (:-osum).  In  the  Anglo-Norman, 
this  termination  already  existed  by  the  14th  century.^  For 
the  other  examples,  where  0  is  before  an  r  or  Z  ^  (excepting  the 
above  ending),  our  patois  either  has  u  or  diphthongizes  0  into 
wo'y  wa'  or  a'w.  For  the  Bessin  "^  and  the  Hague,®  the  results 
are  the  same  as  in  Guernsey. 

^  A  stage  observed  in  sowm  (soumme) :  summum,  §  48. 

^  This  result  is  seen  with  0^  in  closed  syllable  in  drou'l  (droule) :  Germ. 
DROLL-,  g  43,  S. 

^This  pronunciation  is  sometimes  heard  in  sau'm  or  sao'm  (saomme) 
instead  of  sou'm  of  note  1. 

*  Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  85.  ^  Busch,  Ang.-Norm.,  p.  23,  II. 

«Cf.  Meyer-Lubke,  Oram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  133,  ^  121. 

'  Joret,  jBessin,  p.  224.  ^FleuTj,  Hague,  ^.  S7. 


42  E.   S.   LEWIS. 


§  40.— o'+Z;  + voc. 

(1)  In  this  position,  h  becomes  i,  and  the  result  is  o'Vy  or 
it'r,  in  which  the  i,  being  itself  an  unrounded  vowel,  causes 
the  lips  to  separate  a  little  before  the  o  or  w  is  completed,  an 
a  being  thus  introduced :  u'ai' ;  the  accent  is  then  naturally- 
pushed  forward  with  the  result  ua'i'^  as  heard  in  nuai'  (nouaix) : 
NUCEM.  Or  ^,  instead  of  introducing  the  vowel  a,  as  just  sug- 
gested, may  itself  be  influenced  by  the  preceding  u  and  be 
drawn  downward  and  slightly  backward,  giving  e^  as  in  hrwe 
(crouaix)  :  crucem,  vwe  (vouaix)  :  vocem. 

(2)  In  French  proper,  o  forms  a  diphthong  with  the  follow- 
ing t,  and  eventually  is  pronounced  wa^  just  as  the  oi  from 
Latin  e.^  The  Guernsey  results*  correspond  to  the  French 
pronunciation  oe  or  ^d'  of  the  13th  century.^ 

§  41. —  o'-\-  nasal  +  voc. 

(1)  The  results  of  this  combination  vary,  sometimes  being 
0,  as  in  French  proper,  but  usually  u :  ddn  (donne)  :  donat, 
but  genun  (guenoune) :  O.  H.  G.  winja,  hurun  (courounne)  : 
CORONAM,  minjun  (mignioune) :  Celtic  V^IN-,  p9rsun  (per- 
sounne) :  personam,  pi^un  (pigeoune) :  pipionem,  pum 
(poume) :  pomam. 

(2)  Before  a  nasal,  o  did  not  develop  into  ou  and  eu  in 
French  proper.^  Palsgrave,^  however,  states  that  om  was 
pronounced  with  an  w-sound  between  o  and  the  following 
nasal,  and  it  is  thus  that  sowm  (soumme)  is  now  heard  in 
Guernsey.^     In  the  Old  Norman  dialect,  on  the  other  hand, 

*  For  a  similar  development,  cf.  o^-\-  k  -{-  cons.,  1 44,  and  o^^-\-  k  -f-  voc,  ^  94. 
^  A  like  result  is  gotten  from  the  termination  -oriam,  §  46. 
^Schwan,  Gram.,  I  284. 

"Beside  §  40,  1,  and  note  2  and  ^  45,  v.,  for  au,  ^g  71  and  72;  also  the 
result  iie^^  from  a^^u,  U  114  and  116. 

^Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  50;  Schwan,  Gram.,  ^  285,  3. 
^Suchier,  i^ranp.,  p.  82. 
^  Eclaircissement  de  la  langue  frangaise,  p.  7,  V. 
8V.  §  48;  cf.  also  drou'l  (droule),  §  43,  5. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  43 

o  >  It  before  nasals/  and  it  is  this  result  which  is  still  retained 
in  Guernsey,  as  well  as  in  the  Hague,^  but  apparently  not  in 
the  Bessin.^ 

§  42.— .0'+ final  nasal. 

(1)  The  result  is  o*".  Examples :  burdo''  *  (bourdon) :  bur- 
DONEM,  cfo"  (don) :  donum,  mezo''  (maison) :  mansionem,  no" 
(nom) :  nomen,  etc. 

(2)  This  Guernsey  product  is  exactly  similar  to  the  one  in 
French  proper,^  and  also  in  the  Bessin.^  In  the  Old  Norman, 
o  in  this  position  gave  u/  which,  however,  began  to  develop 
into  ou  and  o  by  the  14th  century.^ 


II. —  0'  in  closed  syllable. 
§  43. —  o'  +  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

The  results  here  are  the  same  as  for  0'-}-  oral  cons,  in  open 
syllable,^  and  the  physiological  explanations  must,  therefore, 
be  the  same.     Examples :  ^^ 

(a)   for  0,  krot  (cratite)  :  crustam. 

(13)   for    u*a',"  fwar   (fouar) :    furnum,  rwa-^  (rouage) : 

RUBEUM. 

(7)   for  w,  kwr  (cueurt) :  currit,  josr  (jeur) :  diurnum.*^ 
(S)   for  o'w,  drou'l  (droule)  :  Germ,  droll-. 

^  Meyer-Liibke,  Gram.  Rom.,  I,  pp.  140,  141. 

*  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  37. 

^  Joret,  Bessin,  p.  224,  1°,  o. 

*I  have  heard  Mr.  Guilbert  (v.  Introduction)  pronounce  this  word  hur- 
da"s)**  (or  perhaps  simply  hurdaa^). 

">  Schwan,  Oram.,  U  100,  1,  and  133. 
.  ^  Joret,  ^68*^71,  p.  224, 1®,  o.  ^  Mejer-Liibke,  Gram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  140. 

8  Busch,  Ang.-Norm.,  pp.  24,  25.  »  V.  §  39. 

^"Notice  the  peculiar  form fu'idr  (fouidre) :  fulgur. 

^^  Cf.  iveru'afl  (iverouagne) :  *ebronidm,  karu'afl  (carouagne) :  *caroniam, 
and  also  twar  (touar)  and  detwar  (ddtouar) :  tornum. 

^*To  this  list  belong  the  words  with  the  -orium  termination  (  >€b),  §  47, 1. 
Cf.  also  notf  (neuches) :  %ovtias  and  rproef  (r'preuche) :  *reprobicare. 


44  E.   S.   LEWIS. 


§  44. —  o'-\-k  -\-  cons. 

The  only  example  found,  -^nuar  (genouai) :  *genuclum, 
presents  a  change  similar  to  that  of  o^-\-  k  -\-  voc.  in  the  word 
nuai'  (nouaix) :  nucem.^ 

§  45. —  o'-\-  cons.  H-./.^ 

The  product  is  we',  the  same  as  for  o'-\-  k  in  open  sylla- 
ble.^ Examples:  kit'ef(Qousdffe):  O.  H.G.  kvpthj A, pivwen 
(pivouaine) :  paeoniam.^ 

§  46. driam,^ 

The  result  we'  has  already  been  examined.^  Examples: 
glwer  (glouere) :  gloriam/  istwer  (histouaire) :  historiam, 
memwer  (memouaire)  :  memoriam,  viktwer  (victouaire) :  vic- 

TORIAM. 

§  47. oriwm, 

(1)  In  the  following  three  words,  this  termination  is  treated 
as  if  no  J  followed  the  r,  and  it  thus  becomes  oe,^  since  final  r 
falls  regularly  in  such  cases  :  ^  miroe  (mireux)  :  *miratorium, 
mufoe  (moucheux) :  *muccare,  pr9^8ce  (prinseux) :  presso- 
RIUM.  These  words  may  perhaps  come  directly  from  etyma 
with  an  -orem  ending,  as  miratorem  ^^  and  mucorem,^^  an 

^  V.  §  40,  1,  where  the  development  into  uaH'  is  explained.    The  plural 
is  %nu'a:  (genou§,).     Cf.  the  word  beruai's  (berouaisse) :  Celtic  i/bruxon-. 
'Cf.  -ORiAM,  g  46,  and  -orium,  §  47,  2. 
*V.  §  40, 1. 

*  Notice  orge  (orgu4'):  Germ,  urgoli. 

^  The  two  endings  -oriam  and  -oriam  are  treated  together  because  their 
results  are  identical;  in  French  proper,  these  examples  are  learned  (v. 
Schwan,  Gram.,  I  260,  2,  Anm.  2) ;  cf.  the  -orium  termination,  g  47. 

«V.  HO,  1. 

■^  Cf.  also  s9^ma\jer  (St.  MagliSre),  the  name  of  one  of  the  oldest  churches 
in  Guernsey. 

8V.  §  39,  1,  a.  'OKorting,  Wort,  No.  5329. 

*  V.  §  159.  »  Korting,  Wort.,  No.  5445. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  46 

unlikely  supposition,  however,  on  account  of  the  change  in 
meaning  which  would  then  have  taken  place. 

(2)  The  second  result  of  the  same  ending  is  u'e',  the  regu- 
lar development,  as  we  have  just  seen,^  but  it  is  probable  that 
all  such  examples  have  been  taken,  by  the  persons  using  them, 
directly  from  French  proper,  the  wa  having  been  changed  to 
we'  in  order  to  give  the  word  an  appearance  of  belonging 
to  the  patois,  the  French  vwa  (voix),  for  instance,  being,  in 
Guernsey,  vwe  (vouaix).  Examples :  dormitwer  (dormitou- 
aire),  ekritwer  (ecritouaire),  ho^sistwer  (consistouaire),  mafwer 
(m^chouaire),  etc. 

§  48. —  o'-f  nasal  +  nasal  +  voc. 

smi'm  (soumme)  :  ^  summum  represents  the  first  stage  in  the 
development  of  o,  according  to  the  scheme  already  mentioned.^ 
The  usual  Guernsey  development  is  seen  in  otum  (autumne) : 

AUTUMNUM. 

§  49. —  o'-\r  nasal  +  cons. 

The  change  is  the  same  as  in  French  proper  :  o^hr  (ombre)  : 
UMBRAM,  o^glje  (onglle)  :  ungulam,  etc. 

§  60. —  o'-f  nasal +J. 

(1)  Two  results  are  noted :  waV  and  wi'^  the  former  being 
the  regular  development  and  virtually  a  nasalized  ua'i'^  which 
was  seen  to  be  the  product  of  o'  when  under  the  influence  of 
a  following  h  or  j  ;*  ua'd^  corresponds  to  the  French  wd"". 
Examples  :  ^  huaoT  (couain)  :  cuneum,  puad""  (pouaing)  :  PUG- 

1  V.  §§  45  and  46. 

'This  word  is  sometimes  pronounced  sao'm  (saomme),  and  also  mm. 
(soumme) ;  cf.  also  g  39,  p.  41,  note  3. 

'V.  I  39,  2,  also  Meyer-Liibke,  Oram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  135. 

^V.  §40,  1. 

^  This  list  of  examples  includes  all  words  in  which  the  n  has  been  aflfected 
by  either  a  preceding  or  a  following  j. 


46  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

NUM,  'puad''  (pouaint) :  *punctum,  temucud''  (t^mouain)  :  testi- 
monium.^ 

(2)  u'i\  the  second  result  mentioned  above,  is  observed 
only  in  pwi  (pouit),  which,  with  puad""  (pouaint),  has  *punc- 
TUM  as  etymon.  This  form  may  be  owing  to  its  frequent 
proclitic  position. 

§  51. — juvenem} 

A  peculiar  development  is  seen  in  jan^  (janne)  :  juvenem. 
It  would  naturally  be  expected  that  the  dento-labial  v  should 
keep  the  o  intact,  not  allowing  it  to  lose  its  rounded  quality ; 
but,  no  doubt,  o'  became  a  after  the  assimilation  o^  v  to  n} 


I. —  o'  in  open  syllable. 
'  §  52. —  o'+oral  cons. -f  voc. 

(1)  This  development  need  only  be  mentioned,  as  it  is 
similar  to  that  in  French  proper.  Examples :  kjcer  (cueur) : 
COR,  moe  (meut) :  mo  vet,  nee  (neti)  :  novum,  etc.^  With  some 
Guernseymen,  there  is  a  tendency  toward  the  diphthong  a'ce'y 
instead  of  oe. 

(2)  A  different  result  from  that  in  French,  but  still  regu- 
lar, is  seen  in  roe:  (reue)  :  eotam.^ 

§  53.— o'+^  +  voc. 

(1)  The  result  is  twofold :  il'i'  and  re' ;  only  two  examples 
could  be  found,  but  this  inconvenience  is  lessened  by  there 

^  Cf.  hezu(V»^  (besouain) :  *sonium  ;  this  word,  and  also  temuaa^  (t^mouain), 
are  sometimes  pronounced  b'ezu'a^  (besouen),  temu'a^  (t^mouen).  In  all  the 
above  examples,  some  Guernsey  people  pronounce  -u'9%  instead  of  -ua^9^. 

^Strictly,  this  word  should  come  under  »'';  cf.  also  ganas  ( jannesse). 

'I  have  also  heard  this  word  pronounced  with  a  very  low  a,  somewhat 
rounded.  ^Schwan,  Gram.,  §§  159  and  170. 

^  Cf.  rproef  (r'preuche) :  *bepropiare. 

•  ru:  (roue)  is  also  used  in  Guernsey.   Cf.  also  tcerdr  (teurdre) :  *torquebb. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  47 

being  several  illustrations  of  o'  {-}-  k  -{-  cons.)/  where  the  pro- 
ducts are  the  same  as  here.  We  have  Jcu'i  (tuit) :  coquit  and 
ni'e  or  nje  (niet)  :  nocet. 

(2)  u'i^  is  the  reduction  of  the  triphthong  uoiy  as  in  French 
proper. 

§  54. ocum. 

(1)  This  termination  has  three  different  results  in  Guern- 
sey :  if  ju  and  a'ce'.  In  mi\i  (milli) :  locum  and  j^i  (ji) : 
JOCUM  we  observe  the  first  product;  the  second  is  seen 
in  Iju  (llu) :   LOCUM,  and  the  third  in  faoe'  or  fvce'  (faeu) : 

FOCUM. 

(2)  In  the  present  state  of  philological  knowledge,  no 
correct  solution  can  be  given  of  the  difficult  problem  pre- 
sented by  the  widely  varying  results  of  the  ending  -ocum, 
and  the  Guernsey  dialect  does  not  furnish  sufficiently  new  or 
valuable  material  to  enable  one  to  add  anything  to  what  has 
already  been  written  on  this  subject. 

§  55. —  o'-\-  nasal  +  voc. 

(1)  The  usual  development,  as  in  son  (sonne) :  sonat,  etc., 
is  similar  to  that  in  French  proper.  But  u  is  sometimes  heard 
among  the  Guernsey  people :  etun  (6toune) :  *extonat,  sun 
(soune) :  sonat,  etc. 

(2)  hwan  (bouanne) :  bonam  is  an  exception,  in  which  wa' 
represents  the  diphthong  u'o\  with  the  o  unrounded  under  the 
influence  of  the  following  dental  consonant. 

§  56.— o'+ final  nasal. 

This  combination  forms  an  exact  parallel  to  the  one  treated 
in  the  preceding  paragraph.  The  regular  result  if  is  similar 
to  that  in  French  proper :  so""  (son) :  sonum,  etc.,  but  hwoT 
(bouan)  :  bonum  forms  an  exception. 

1  V.  a  58. 


48  E.   8.    LEWIS. 

II, —  o'  in  closed  syllable. 
§  57.— o'+«. 

Two  words,  with  a  product  o,  should  be  noticed  here ;  fo 
(fo)  :  FOLLEM  and  ko  (co)  ;  collum. 

§  58. —  o^-\-  k  -{-  cons. 

The  results  are  the  same  as  for  o'  {-\- k  -\-  voc.).^    Examples  ; 
(a)   for  re',^  ni'e  or  nje  (niet)  :  noctem,  ni'er  or  njer  (niere) : 
NOCERE,  vi'ed  (viede) :  *vocitum. 

(^)   for  il'i'j  ku'ir  (tuire) :  coquere,  ku'is  (tuisse) :  ^  cox  AM. 

§  59. oriam. 

This  termination  has  already  been  discussed.* 

§  60. —  o'+oral  cons. +i- 

(1)  When  o'  is  followed  by  an  oral  consonant  -\-j  (except- 
ing Ijf  already  mentioned),*  it  has  two  results  :  u'i^  and  i.  The  < 
development  into  u'i^  is  observed  in  ku'ir  (tuir) :  CORIUM ;  and 
we  find  i  in  i:tr  (hltre)  :  ostream,  pis  (pisse)  :  *potiam,  plji: 
(pllie) :  *PLOViAM.^ 

(2)  It  would  be  well  to  call  attention  to  the  frequent  reduc- 
tion, in  Guernsey,  of  ii'i  to  t,  as  just  noted  in  i:tr  (hitre),  pis 
(pisse),  etc.^ 

ly.  ^53,  land2. 

*This  product  is  noted  also  in  ^'ei  (fielle):  foliam,  i'el  (ieil) :  OCULUM. 

'We  also  have  tfi'es  (tschiesse). 

*V.H6.  »V.  §58,note2. 

*Cf.  also  a^ni  (enni) :  *inodiare  and  ki\  (cuille) :  colligbre.  Note 
apref  {&pprbche) :  appropiat  and  pares  (paresse) :  parochiam. 

'  V.  §  60,  1,  NOTE  6.  Cf.  bri  (brit) :  Germ,  v^bro,  fir  (fire)  and  a^'fir 
(enfire) :  pugire,  pis  (piss) :  puteum.  We  also  have  pi  (pis),  da"pi  (den- 
pis),  dpi  (d'pts),  pisk  (pisque),  all  from  post. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  49 

(3)  Eggert  and  Joret^  have  so  thoroughly  treated  the  sub- 
ject of  o'  when  influenced  by  a  following  ^-sound,  that  nothing 
need  be  added  here.  The  usual  Guernsey  products,  re'  and  i, 
are  similar  to  those  of  the  Hague  and  of  the  Yal  de  Saire.  ily 
found  in  our  patois,^  is  heard  in  the  Cotentin,  and  m'  is  similar 
to  the  result  in  French  proper. 

§  61. —  longe.^ 

LONGE  >  Xjol"  (lian),  in  which  the  mouillation  of  the  n  has 
been  lost. 

§  62. —  o'+  nasal  +  cons. 

The  development  is  similar  to  that  in  French.  Examples : 
hft  (compte) :  computum,  b""  (long)  :  longum,  etc. 

§  63. —  o'-\-  nasal  +  nasal  +  voc. 

(1)  This  combination  is  found  in  nun  (noune) ;  nonnam, 
swm(soume):  sommitm,  um  (houmme):  hominem.'*  Probably 
under  the  influence  of  Modern  French,  o  is  sometimes  heard 
instead  of  u :  non  (nonne),  som  (somme),  etc. 

(2)  The  result  u  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Old  Franco-Nor- 
man dialect,^  and  is  still  heard  in  the  Hague.® 

U 

I. —  u'  in  open  syllable. 
§  64. —  u'-\-  oral  cons.  -{-  voc. 

(1)  In  this  position,  u'  gives  three  results:  the  first  like 
the  product  in  French  proper — it,  the  other  two  being  related 

1  Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  pp.  369-371 ;  Joret,  Melanges,  pp.  51-54 ;  Joret, 
Extraits,  pp.  154-158 ;  Meyer-Liibke,  Oram.  Bom.,  I,  pp.  185-187. 

«  V.  U  108  and  111.        » Cf.  Meyer-Lubke,  Gram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  204,  §  220. 

*Cf.  this  result  with  that  of  o^  (+  nasal),  U  41,  1,  and  48,  and  with  that 
of  0^^  (+ nasal),  g^  95, 1,  and  100 ;  also  U  106,  1,  and  123. 

*  Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  50. 

^Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  369 ;  also  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  37. 

4 


50  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

to  each  other — ce  and  a'oe,\  Examples  for  u  are  hevu  (querrue) : 
CARRUCAM,  Imr  (cure) :  curam,  mur  (mur) :  murum,  nu  (nu) : 
NUDUM ;  ^  for  Q?  we  find  as(x,r  (asseure)  and  rasmr  (rasseure) : 
*ASSECURARE,  do&  (dcu) :  DEBERE,  IcoJoefT  (caussheure) :  cal- 
CEAM,  hroe  (cret) :  credere,  hmm  (counneti) :  cognoscere, 
'pljcR  (pUeii) :  PLACERE,  'poe,  (pefi) :  *potere,  tvor:  (rVeue) : 
REVIDERE,  mercer  (sereure) :  *serrare,  see  (seii) :  sapere,  voe, 
(veii) :  viDERE ;  ^  for  a'cer  we  have  ace*  (aeut) :  habere,  daoer 
(daeut) :  debere,  livaod'  (craeut) :  credere,  hunaoe'  (coun- 
naeut):  cognoscere,  maosT  (maenr) :  MATURUMjj^ace*  (paeut): 
POTEREjSace*  (saeut) :  sapere,  sace'r  (saeur) :  securum,  s^raosT 
(serraeure)  :  ^  *serrare,  tace'  (taeut)  :  tacere. 

(2)  The  irregular  verbs  whose  preterit  and  past  participle 
both  end  in  u  in  French  proper,  have  two  terminations  in  the 
Guernsey  dialect :  a'w  for  the  preterit,  but  cem  the  past  par- 
ticiple (counnaeuty  counneu;  daeut,  deu;  paeut,  pell,  etc.) ;  the 
imperfect  subjunctive  is  formed  from  the  preterit  {counnaeusse, 
daeusse,  paeusse,  etc.). 

(3)  In  the  Hague  also,  maturum  >  meu,  securum  >  seu,^ 
Meyer-Liibke  ®  says  that  the  development  of  Latin  u,  in  the 
Norman  dialects,  forms  an  important  question  in  philology ; 
he  finds  that  the  Old  Anglo-Norman  texts  of  the  South  allow 
u,  corresponding  to  il,  to  rhyme  only  with  itself,  while  in  the 
North  no  difference  is  made,  either  in  the  writing  or  in  rhyme, 
between  u  and  o,  ou.  The  Guernsey  patois  accordingly,  in 
most  words  with  Latin  u,  represents  the  development  found 
in  texts  from  the  Old  Northern  Anglo-Norman  dialects. 

§  65. —  u^-\-  k  -{-  voc. 

We  notice  here  two  products :  re',  in  li'e  (liet)  and  rli'e 
(r'liet) :  lucet,  and  i,  in  ko^'dir  (condire) :  conducere,  si: 
(sie):  *SUDICAM.^ 

^  Also  bur  (burre) :  *butirum. 

*Cf.  purveke  (pourv^  que).     In  these  examples  must  also  be  included  jce 

(ie6)  :    HABERE. 

^  Cf.  seroer  (sereure),  given  above.         ^  Oram.  Bom.,  I,  pp.  73,  74,  §  48. 
*  Fleury,  Hague,  pp.  40  ff.  «  Cf .  ^  60,  2. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  51 


§  66. —  u^-{-  nasal  +  voc. 

(1)  This  It' becomes  05.  Examples:  a/cem (alleume) :  allu- 
MINAT,  ol'hjcem  (enclleume) :  incudem,  dcen  (deune) :  Old  Irish 
DUN,  fartcen  (forteune) :  fortunam,  kmcen  (c'meune) :  COM- 
MUNEM,  ko'^soem  (conseume):  consumat,  kutcem  (cotiteume): 
*C0STUMAM,  legoeyn  (l^geume) :  leguminem,  loen  (leune) : 
LUNAM,  pljoem  (plleume) :  plum  AM,  proen  (preune) :  *pru- 
NAM.^  u,  on  becoming  nasalized,  has  been  lowered  to  oe, 
Nasalization  is,  however,  but  slightly  heard  now  in  the  words 
noted  above,  the  lowering  of  it  to  ce  being  the  only  evidence 
left  of  its  previous  existence. 

(2)  Meyer-Liibke^  says  that,  in  the  French  dialects,  the 
development  into  un,  une  is  exactly  parallel  to  that  of  m,  iTie; 
that  is  also  true  for  the  Guernsey  patois,  since  we  have  as",  om 
corresponding  to  9^,  en. 

§  67. —  u'-f  filial  nasal. 

No  examples  will  be  given  under  this  heading,  for  the 
result  ((xT)  is  the  same  as  in  French  proper;  but  Eggert' 
should  be  corrected  when,  misled  probably  by  the  orthog- 
raphy, he  writes  that  the  nasal  it-sound  remains  in  Guernsey, 
being  spelt  itn  by  Metivier ;  the  Guernsey  ce™  may  sometimes 
be  distinguished  from  the  French  ce™  by  being  a  narrow  nasal 
vowel,  whereas  the  tendency  of  the  latter  is  toward  wideness ; 
but  it"  is  never  heard. 

II. —  u'  in  dosed  syllable, 
§  68. —  tt'-f  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

This  result  is  the  same  as  in  French  proper  :  puf  (puche)  : 
PULiCEM,  etc. 

*  Cf,  aleofrcem  (freume),  present  indicative  of/nimar  (frumaiir) :  *firmarb. 
Cf.  rp^'fcoen  (ranqueune) :  *bancoriam. 
2  Gram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  80,  §  57.  ^  Norm.  Mund.y  p.  365. 


62  E.  S.   LEWIS. 

§  69.-~w'+A;  +  con8., 
u'-\-  cons.  -\-j, 

(1)  As  the  results  under  these  two  headings  are  alike,  they 
will  be  examined  together.  Examples :  bri  (brit) :  *brtjgi- 
TUM,  fri  (frit) :  fructum,  kf'dit  (condite) :  conducere.  w' 
was  drawn  forward  to  ily  because  of  the  following  k  or  ^-sound ; 
this  u  may  then  have  been  unrounded  to  i  under  the  same 
influence  (u^-{-j  >  u^i*  >  il'i^  >  i'i'  >  i).  This  reduction,  in 
its  relation  to  the  other  Norman  dialects,  has  already  been 
examined.^ 

(2)  p9rtu  (pertu)  comes  from  pertusum,  and  is  not  pecu- 
liar to  the  Guernsey  patois. 

au 

I. —  a'w  in  open  syllable, 

§  70. —  a'u  +  oral  cons.  +  voc, 
a'u  -\-  mute  +  liquid. 

(1)  a'u  here  develops  into  o.  Examples :  bo:  (baue) : 
Cymric  baw,  kljor  (cUore) :  claudere,  parol  (parole) :  para- 
BOLAM,  por  (paure) :  pauperem,  foz  (chose) :  CAUSAM,  50; 
(joe) :  GAUTAM.  In  or  (or) :  aurum,  o  is  pronounced  open 
under  the  influence  of  the  following  r. 

(2)  As  in  other  Romance  languages,  hi:  (coue) :  caudam 
is  an  exception  to  the  rule ;  u  here  comes  from  0.^ 

(3)  The  Guernsey  development  of  a'u  into  o  is  the  usual 
one  in  Norman  dialects,^  and  this  was  also  the  pronunciation 
of  French  proper  in  the  17th  century.'^ 

§  71. —  a^u  -\-k-\-  voc. 

The  change  of  a'u  (+  ^)  into  we'y  in  we:  (ouaie) :  aucam, 
must  be  compared  with  that  of  0^  in  this  position.^ 

ly.  §60,  2. 

*For  o>u,  V.  ?  39,  1,  )8.  Notice  also  the  two  forms  kljaw  (cllaou): 
CLAVUM  and/wm  (choume) :  cauma. 

3  Gorlich,  Mak.,  p.  xxi,  54.        *  Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  53.        *  V.  ^  40, 1. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  53 

II. —  a'u  in  closed  syllable, 
§  72. —  a^u  -\-  cons.  -\-j. 

The  result  here  is  the  same  as  in  the  preceding  paragraph ; 
we  find  fwe  (chouaix) :  Germ,  kausjan  and  -pi'e:  (jouaie) : 
GAUDIUM.  Under  the  influence  of  the  preceding  sibilants,  we 
sometimes  hear  u'  instead  of  w :  fu'e  and  -^u'e:. 


Chapter  II. 
SUBTONIC   VOWELS. 


I. —  a"  in  open  syllable, 

§  73. —  «''+  oral  cons.  +  voc, 
a"-|-  mute  +  liquid. 

A  few  peculiar  developments  are  to  be  noted  under  this  head- 
ing, a"  falls  in  Isi'e  (Fsier)  :  lax  are.  In  irani:  (iragnie)  : 
*ARANEATAM,  the  change  of  a"  into  i  is  owing  to  differentiation 
from  the  second  syllable,  and,  besides,  this  result  is  similar  to 
the  one  found  in  Old  French :  iraignie,^  In  tvha  (tuba') : 
Indian  tabak,  the  a"  becomes  u  under  the  influence  of  the 
following  labial  consonant,  a"  gives  a"v  in  ai'mai'  (aimair) : 
AMARE,  ai'nai'  (ainai) :  natum  ;  in  the  first  example,  this  i' 
develops  after  the  a,  when  a  is  tonic,  and,  from  this  tonic 
position,  the  form  in  ai'  has  been  extended  to  a  with  second- 
ary accent ;  the  a"r  of  the  second  example  is  due  to  the 
accented  form  *ANTnjs. 

§  74,— k  (g  or  qu) -\- a'^-\-r, 

a",  preceded  by  ^,  g  or  qUy  and  followed  by  r,  either  in  open 
or  closed  syllable,  gives  e.     Examples:   egerai'  (6guerair): 

1 V.  Korting,  Worty  No.  688. 


54  E.  S.   LEWIS. 

Frankish  *waron,  d^ergo''  (djergon) :  garg,  gerrfd  (gu6- 
rande) :  Frankish  *waron,  gerd  (gu^ret) :  Cymric  gar,  TceiroH 
(querante) :  *quadraginta,  kerho''  (querbon) :  carbonem, 
heri'o  (k^riot) :  carrum,  keri'er  (querriere) :  *quadrariam, 
IcerpaHi'e  (querpentier) :  carpentarium,  heru :  (querue) :  CAR- 
RUCAM,  fei^i'e  (chergier)  :  *carricare,  Jeritav  (ch^ritai) : 
CARiTATEM,  fermav  (chermair) :  carminare.^  The  same 
result  is  observed  when  ky  g  or  qu  do  not  precede  a",  as  in 
eperni'e  (6pergnier) :  Germ.  *sparanjan,  erifg  (harangue) : 
Germ,  hring,  erafi'e  (errachier) :  *arradicare,  ere^  (er^te)  : 
ARISTAM,  erpo''  (herpon) :  apTnj,  eruzi'e  (erousier) :  *arrosare. 

§  75.— a''+voc. 

a'',  before  a  vowel,  becomes  r  in  the  following  two  words : 
agri'ai'  (agriair)  and  agri'a'bje  (agriablle)  :  gratum. 

II. —  a"  in  dosed  syllable, 

§  76. —  a"-\-  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

The  result  is  similar  to  that  observed  in  French  proper  :  a'' 
remains.  Examples :  akatai'  (acatair)  :  *accaptare,  batai'X 
(bataille)  :  *battaliam,  kjartai'  (cllartai)  :  claritatem. 

§  77. —  a"  +  secondary  y  +  cons. 

(1)  The  examples  found  give  the  result  a''r ;  ai'gje  (aiguer) : 
ADJUTAREj^rarXe  (grailler) :  *CRATicuLARE,par:<;a''  (paisan) : 
PAGENSEM,  trai-nai'  (trainair)  :  *tragimen.^ 

(2)  lakdr  (laquer)  does  not  come  from  laxare,  but  from 
*LASKARE,  where  a"  remains  regularly.  In  the  Roland  we 
meet  with  a  form  lasquent.^ 

^  Cf.  ek'erbo  (^kerbot) :  scarabaeum,  and  the  future  and  conditional  of 
aver  (aveir) :  habere  [ere  (^rai),  etc.]  ;  also  pljefi'e  (pll^chier) :  plateam. 

^  Notice,  however,  kastane  (castagnier) :  castaneam,  and  cf.  etraUe  (etra- 
gnier) :  stringere. 

^Gautier,  Roland,  line  3877.  For  the  change  of  x  {=ks)  into  sk^  v. 
Schwan,  Gram.,  ^  218,  2,  Anm.  2. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND   DIALECT.  55 


§  78. —  A;  -f-  a"+  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

a"  remains  here,  as  in  French  proper.  Examples :  kastavn 
(castaine):  castane am, /ape  (chape):  CAPPELLUM,/a<e(chM6): 
CASTELLUM,  Jotjav  (ch^ltiair)  :  castigare,  etc. 

§  79. —  a"  -\-  nasal  +  cons. 

The  result  is  rf.  Examples :  ifm/'te  (mante) :  mantellum, 
rmfjje  (mangier) :  manducare,  srftav  (santai) :  sanitatem, 
/©""cfe^chandelle) :  candelaMj/^^'so*' (chanson):  cantionem, 
frftai*  (chantair) :  cantare,  vrftai'  (v^ntair) :  vanitare,  etc. 
When  a",  in  closed  syllable,  becomes  nasal,  its  position  is 
changed  to  »,  a  result  similar  to  that  of  o  becoming  o**,  and  of 
u  giving  ce".  The  pronunciation  ol"  is  also  heard  from  time  to 
time,  but  is  probably  owing  to  Modern  French  influence. 


I. —  e"  in  open  syllable. 
§  80. —  e"+oral  cons.  +  voc. 

e"  sometimes  disappears  entirely.  Examples :  dj(t  (dYend) 
and  dfa'^dil  (d'fendu);  defendere,  dfo  (d'faut)  :  de  -j-  *fal- 
litum,  driv  (derive) :  derivare,  ds9''  (d'sein) :  designare, 
dzdrtai'  (d'sertair) :  desertare,  dzi7'  (d'sir)  and  dzire  (d'sirrai) : 
DESIDERIUM,  v/d""  (v'chtn)  and  via  (v'l^) :  videre.^  In  the 
following  three  cases,  the  result  is  e :  peri'e  (p^rier) :  pirum, 
serad'  (serMe) :  serum,  trezi'em  (treisieme) :  tres  ;  in  these 
words,  the  development  of  e"  has  probably  been  influenced  by 
that  of  tonic  e.  We  also  find  e  in  the  future  and  conditional 
of  krer  (creire)  :  credere  [^krere  (creirai),  etc.].    we'^  is  noted 

*E,  also,  falls  in  rpai-  (r'pare)  and  rparai'  (r'parair):  kepabare,  rzudr 
(r'soudre):  besolvebe,  riisir  (russir) :  re  +  exike,  spultur  (s'pulture) : 
SEPULTURAM,  ■g9nral  (gen'ral)  and  ^9nralmaV'  (gen'ralement) :  generalem; 
i  drops  in  dlu-g  (d'luge) :  diluvium. 


56  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

in  twebt  (touelette) :  telam,  which  is  perhaps  a  new  forma- 
tion on  the  Modern  French  word.  Under  the  influence  of  the 
preceding  and  following  labials,  we  have  u  in  fumjdl  (fumelle) : 

PEMELLAM.^ 

§    81.— 6''+^  +  V0C. 

Only  two  examples  have  been  found :  lavzir  (laisir) :  lioere^ 
and  dmwezdl  (d'mouaiselle) :  *dominicellam.^ 

§  82.— e''+voc. 

In  the  following  three  examples,  we  observe  a  product  6"r  or 
ej  :d^hreja'bje  (increyablle)  :  credere,  krei:  or  hreji:  (cr^y ie) :  * 
CREDERE,  vd'e  (veyais) :  videre.  This  e"r,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  following  vowel,  has  been  reduced  to  r  (sometimes 
sounding  almost  like  J)  in  a'^vvai'  (envy'air) :  *inviare,  dferr- 
a'hje  (efferyablle) :  *effridare,^  nekjai'  (nequiair) :  nitidum, 
vi'ai  (viage) :  viaticum. 

§  83.—  e''+  nasal  +  voc. 

Here,  e"  disappears.  Examples :  dni'e  (d'nier) :  denarium, 
fnar  (f'nair)  :  fenum,  mnai'  (m'nair)  :  minare,  etc. 

II. —  e"  in  closed  syllable. 
§  84. —  e"4-  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

The  treatment  of  e"  varies  in  this  case :  sometimes  it 
remains,  sometimes  it  disappears.  Examples  :  e"  remains  in 
mereX  (mereille) :    *mirabilia,  but  falls   in  skje  (s'quier) : 

SICCARE. 

^Cf.  priimi'e  (prumier) :  primarium,  also /riimar  (fruma'ir) :  "^firmarb 
and  its  compounds. 
'^Cf.  pai'so^  (paisson)  :  *piscionem,  §  85. 
3  For  this  result  we^^,  cf.  §  14,  5  and  6. 
*  Corresponding  to  Modern  French  croyez. 
*e^'  disappears  in  9fra:i'  (efir^i'r) :  *efpridare. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  67 

§  85.— e"+sc. 

6"  develops  into  a"i'  in  pai'so^  (pai'sson) :  *piscionem.^  The 
more  usual  Guernsey  result,  e,  is  observed  in  kresv""  (creissant) ; 
crescere. 

§  86.— e"+\  (or  n). 

Under  the  influence  of  the  following  palatal  sound  (\  or 
n)f  e  has  been  raised  to  i.  Examples  :  aparikje  (appariller)  : 
*APPARICULARE,  ko^'siXi  (consilli) :  *consiliare,  oriXje  (oril- 
lier) :  auriculam,  reviXre  (revilFraient) :  re  4-*exvigilare, 
frfdiXje  (chandiller) :  candelam,  viXri:  (vilPries) ;  vigilare.^ 

§  87. —  e"-{-  nasal  +  cons. 

The  result  here  is  the  same  as  in  French  proper.  Examples : 
ctirai'  (entrair) :  intrare,  sa'^bjar  (sembllair) :  simulare, 
etc.  In  anmi  (ann'mi) :  *inamicum,  the  e"  is  in  open  sylla- 
ble, and  its  nasal  quality  is  hardly  perceptible. 

e 

9^^  in  closed  syllable. 
§  88. —  9"-\-  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

There  are  no  peculiar  developments  in  Guernsey  to  be  noted 
under  this  heading,  except  the  one  word  presi  (pressi) :  pres- 
SATUM,  where  the  a"  has  become  closed,  probably  under  the 
influence  of  the  following  sibilant. 

§  89.— 9"H-cons.  -\-j. 

In  the  following  words,  »"  becomes  i,  under  the  influence 
of  the  following  ^-sound  :  ^^y/tijaoer  (inginiaeux)  :  *ingenia- 

^Cf.  Im'zir  (laisir),  \  81,  and  vnm"nXi  (mainti),  \  89.    Notice  also  mi-»» 
(vsuLsin):  vicinum. 
2  Cf.  also  lip'^  (lichon) :  lectionem. 


58  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

TOREM,  lijje  (ligier) :  *leviarium,  miljaoe'  (millaeu)  and 
amiljorasjo^  (amilioration) :  meliorem,  dfijcer  (stgneur) :  seni- 
OREM.^  Under  this  heading  can  come  those  examples  in  which 
9",  followed  by  a  palatal,  develops  into  i :  likje  (liquier) :  O. 
H.  G.  LEKKON,  pinje  (pignier) :  pectinare.^  In  rmi'ddve 
(r'miedier) :  remediare,  the  product  i'd"  is  owing  to  analogy 
with  the  tonic  form  rmi'dd  (r'miede).^  A  peculiar  form  is  to 
be  noted  here :  mai'nti  (mainti) :  medietatem  ;  *  this  result 
a"r  has  already  been  observed  in  three  words,  lai'zir  (laisir),^ 
pai'so''  (paisson)  ^  and  vai'zd^  (vaisin).^ 

§  90.— a"  +  A;  +  cons. 

We  notice  a  product  e  in  sesioH  (sesante) :  sexaqinta  and 
vetur  (v^ture) :  vecturam.'' 

§  91. —  ^"-\-  nasal  +  cons. 

The  change  is,  in  Guernsey,  the  same  as  in  French  proper : 
tral'bjav  (trembllair)  :  *tremulare,  etc. 


i"  in  open  and  dosed  syllable. 

§  92. —  *''+ cons.  +  voc, 
i"-\-  cons.  +  cons. 

(1)   The  whole  treatment  of  i"  is  the  same  as  in  French 
proper,  and  might  therefore  be  omitted  here.    Examples  :  iwr 

*Cf.  also  batili'e  (batilier) :  Anglo-Saxon  bat,  g'eru'ezili'e  (gueruaisilier) : 
Germ,  krausel, /iZi  e  (chiller) :  CELiiARiUM. 

^  Cf.  also  9rbv^e  (herbigier) :  Germ.  *heriberc  and  niai'  (niair) :  necare. 

^  V.  I  30,  1,  a,  and  cf.  a^pi-e^^ri'e^  (empierier)  :  *pejorem. 

*A  related  development  is  seen  in  ^jre^so?  (prinseux) :  pressabe,  where 
e  has  been  nasalized  as  the  i  in  ^/^"  (ichin),  §  35,  2. 

*V.  §81.  «V.  §85andNOTEl. 

'  Cf.  the  development  of  tonic  e,  §  14,  3  and  4. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  59 

(hiver) :  hibernum,  viljad""  (villain) :  *villanum,  etc.,  and 
also  sd'^pXisitai'  (simpllicitai) :  *simplicitatem,  etc. 

(2)  In  sufjai'  (suffllair)  :  sibilare/  the  i"  is  rounded  and 
becomes  u  under  the  influence  of  the  following  labial.  The 
rounding  of  t"  in  this  word  is  not,  however,  peculiar  to 
Guernsey,  since  Folk-Latin  has  the  form  *subilare.^ 

(3)  In  a  few  words,  ^"  disappears  entirely  :  nurtilr  (nourr^ 
ture) :  *nutrituram,  fimnad'  (chim'naie)  :  *caminatam  ;  ^ 
in  the  last  example,  *",  before  falling,  affected  the  preceding 
vowel,  causing  it  to  become  i. 


I. —  o''  in  open  syllable. 
§  93. —  o"H-oral  cons. -}- voc. 

(1)  The  results  under  this  heading  (u  and  oe)  are  the  same 
as  in  French  proper :  nuai'  (nouair) :  nod  are,  nurir  (nourrir) : 
*NUTRIRE,  etc.,  and  pljcerai'  (plleurair) :  plorare,  etc. 

(2)  Only  a  few  exceptions,  or  different  forms  from  French 
proper,  have  been  found  :  pjuvir  (pllouvir) :  *pluere,  purtr? 
(pourtrait)  :  pro  +  trahere,  ruzad'  (rous^ie)  :  ROS.* 

(3)  The  diphthong  wa^^  is  more  frequently  heard  than  the 
simple  tfc,  in  a  few  words  such  as  lahwai^  (labouarait) :  labo- 
RARE,  swari  (souaris)  :  *soricem,  etc.  The  same  influence  is 
noted  in  Jcawar  (caouard) :  cod  am. 

§  94.— o''+Z;  + voc. 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  development  of  such 
words  as  keruai'zje  (kerouaisier)  :  crucem.^ 

^  Of.  v^giil  (angMe) :  anguillam,  §  38. 
^Korting,  Wort.,  No.  7442. 

'■^  Cf.  the  fall  of  e'^,  ^  80.    Notice  also  captai'n  (cap^taine) :  *capitaneum, 
and  the  proper  names  gljom  or  gjom  (G'llaume)  and  orfli  (Aur'gni). 
*  Cf.  also  vlai-  (houlair)  :  ululare.  *  V.  §  40,  1. 


60  E.   S.   LEWIS. 


§  95. —  o"-f- Jiasal  +  voc. 

(1)  Like  o'  in  the  same  position/  o"  here  becomes  u. 
Examples :  dunai'  (dounnair)  and  pardunai'  (pardounnair) : 
DONARE,  pumi'e  (poumier)  :  pomum,  ramunai'  (ramounnair) : 
*RAMONEM,  rezunai'  (raisounnair) :  *rationare,  umar  (hou- 
mard) :  Germ,  hummer,  etc.^ 

(2)  An  exceptional  development  is  seen  in  naJ^rvoH  or  nal^n- 
nrft  (nennante) :  nonaginta.^ 


II. —  o''  in  closed  syllable, 
§  96. —  o"+  oral  cons.  -|-  cons. 

(1)  The  Guernsey  dialect  and  French  proper  are  again 
similar.  Examples  :  dutar  (doutair) :  dubitare,  etc.  The 
pronunciation  wa"  is  also  heard,  as  in  bwafi'e  (bouachier) : 
Frankish  bukk-,  kwarir  (couarir)  :  currere,  etc. 

(2)  We  find  two  exceptions :  ajjoernr)"'  (ajeurnant) :  DIUR- 
NUM,  formed  by  analogy  to  ^cer  (jeur),^  and  rotur  (roture) : 

RUPTAM.^ 

§  97.— o"+^H-cons. 

In  dwafma''  (douach'ment) :  dulcem  and  pwafd^  (pouas- 
shin) :  pullicenum,  o"-{-  I  may  have  gone  through  the  stages 
o"u'^  u  >  wo"  >  It* a",  mentioned  in  connection  with  o'  in 
open  syllable.^ 

§  98.— o"+cons. +j. 

o"  here  develops  in  the  same  way  as  o'  in  like  position.^ 
Examples :  hweXd  (bouaillait)  and  hweko''  (bouaillon) :  bul- 
LIRE,  kcUweXje  (catouailler) :  *cattuculare,  nwezje  (nou- 

ly.  §41. 

^  Also  bu7i9  (bounet),  corresponding  to  Modem  French  bonnet,  etymology 
unknown.  ^Cf.  §  106,  2.  -•  V.  g  43,  y. 

^Notice  also  murtrai'  (mourtrair) :  monstrabe. 
«V.  §39,  2and3,i3.  'V.  §45. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND   DIALECT.  61 

aisier) :  *nucarium,  pwezo^  (pouaison)  ,and  al'pu'ezunai' 
(empouaisounair) :  potionem.  The  triphthong  u'a"i'  is, 
however,  very  frequently  heard  instead  of  this  diphthong 
we''. 

§  99.— o"+/:s. 

We  find  the  product  i  in  bisif  (bisson)  and  biso''nJ9r  (bis- 
songni^re)  :  buxum,^  but  wi"  in  bwise  (bouiss^) :  *buxidam. 

§  100. —  o"-\-  nasal  +  nasal  +  voc. 

The  result  is  the  same  as  for  o"  in  open  syllable.^  Ex- 
amples :  grunar  (grounard) :  grundire,  numai'  (noumair) : 
NOMiNARE,  rhinisTf'  (r'counnissant) :  recognoscere,  etc. 

§  101. —  o"-\-  nasal  +  oral  cons. 

This  result  is  identical  with  the  one  in  French  proper; 
moHar  (montair)  :  *montare,  etc.^ 

§  102.— 0"+^. 

We  notice  a  change  into  Wd""",  in  the  word  ohi'dHir 
(accouaintir) :  *accognitare.  This  result  is  probably  noth- 
ing but  the  nasalizing  of  u'a"i',^  from  which  the  a  has  fallen 
{u'a"i-  +  nasal  >  ifc-a' V  >  Wd""") ;  the  pronunciation  wa"?" 
is  actually  heard  in  the  Upper  Parishes. 


O 

o"  in  closed  syllable, 

§  103. —  o"4- oral  cons. -|- cons. 

The  o"y   in   this   position,  gives   two   results :   o   and   u. 
According  to  the  examples,  o  seems  to  be  the  more  usual 

1  Notice  pwjO'e  (puchier) :  puteum,  and  v.  ^  60,  2.  '  V.  ^  96, 1. 

3  According  to  Korting  (  Wort,  No.  5401),  this  word  should  come  under 
y\  but  Schwan  ( Oram.,  I  133)  puts  it  under  o'^.  *  Cf.  §  50, 1. 


62  E.  S.   LEWIS. 

development :  kopai'  (copair) :  colaphum,  sodai'  (sodair) : 
SOLID  ARE,  torma''  (torment):  tobmentum,  with  the  single 
word  turnai'  (tournair) :  tornare  as  illustration  of  the 
change  into  u. 

§  104.-0''+//. 

o"  in  this  combination  gives,  regularly,  it* a".  Examples : 
depwaXje  (d^pouailler) :  despoliare,  mwaXje  (mouailler) : 
*M0LLIARE.*  Under  the  influence  of  the  tonic  forms,^  we 
hsLwefi'eXja-^  (fieillage)  and^'eXi^  (fieillu):  folium,  also  i'eXje 
(ieillet)  and  reXi:  (ieillie)  :  oculum. 

§  J  05. —  o"+  nasal  -|-  oral  cons. 

It  is  sufficient  simply  to  call  attention  to  this  combination. 
Examples :  kf'parai'  (comparair) :  comparare,  so^'^'e  (son- 
gier) :  somniare,  etc. 

§  106. —  0"+  nasal  +  nasal  +  voc. 

(1)  0",  before  double  m,  generally  falls.  Examples  :  kma'' 
(c'ment) :  QUOMO,  kmuHar  (c'mandair) :  *commandare,  kma""/ 
(c'menche)  and  kma'^jmol'  (c'mench'ment) :  *cominitiare,  kmod 
(c'mod§),  kmoditai'  (c'moditai)  and  akmod  (acc'mode) :  commo- 
DUM.  But  0"  becomes  u  in  kurrtdr  (coumere) :  commatrem, 
kumunje  (coumunier) :  communem.^ 

(2)  Attention  might  here  be  called  to  a  few  words  in 
which  0"+ nasal  >  a*";  for  convenience  sake,  they  are  all 
classed  under  this  heading :  cCnihu  (ennibu) :  omnibus, 
koral'ndl  (corennel):   Ital.  colonnej^lo,  vohl'tai'  (volentai): 


^  Notice  the  same  result  in  m'ane  (souagner) :  *sonium. 

*V.  §  58,  NOTE  1.    Cf.  also  kiKjdt  (cuillette)  and  akiKir  (accuillirent) : 

COLLIGERE. 

^  Cf.  also  rmMje  (mougnier) :  molinarium. 

*  Cf.  Q^dv^ta^bje  (ind^ntablle) :  domitare,  and  also  §  95,  2.    An  opposite 
development  has  taken  place  in  bMrM^^  (lond'main) :  in  +  de  +  mane. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT,  63 

U 

I. —  u"  in  open  syllable, 
§  107. —  u"-\-  oral  cons.  +  voc. 

The  regular  result  is  the  same  as  in  French  proper :  durai' 
(durair) :  durare,  etc.,  but  there  are  some  exceptions :  molatr 
(molfltre) :  mulum,  where  the  it"  has  been  treated  like  a 
pretonic  o ;  ^  asoerav  (asselirair) :  *assecurare  and  hcemf' 
(beuv^nt) :  bibere,  which  have  ce ;  S€er  (seur) :  sudorem, 
where  u^'  has  been  dropped  entirely ;  ^  oJ'rimai'  (enrhlmair) : 

RHEUM  A. 

§  108.— iA"+;fe  +  voc. 

In  rlveznf  (r'liesant) :  relucentem,  the  development  is  the 
same  as  for  u'  in  this  position.^  Under  this  heading,  would 
probably  come  riXse  (ruse) :  ^bjj-,  where  the  following  h,  or 
its  developed  ^'-sound,  has  drawn  u"  forward  to  u,  itself  then 
dropping  {u"-\-j  >  u"i'  >  u). 

§  109. —  w"+  nasal  +  voc. 

The  result  is  the  same  here  as  in  French  proper.  Ex- 
amples :  fumai'  (fumair)  :  fumare,  uma»''  (humain)  :*  huma- 
NUN,  etc.* 

II. —  ?-t"  in  closed  syllable. 
§  110. —  u"+  oral  cons.  +  cons. 

As  in  French  proper,  the  development  is  here  into  ii. 
Examples  :  buli'e  (btilier)  :  buculum,  putod''  (putain) :  puti- 
DUM,  etc. 

^Cf.  §120. 

^In  the  Vale,  one  of  the  Lower  Parishes,  u^^  is  also  dropped  in  bw^ 
(b'vUnt),  bv9  (b'vait),  etc. :  bibere. 
'V.  §65. 
*Note  also  degunai'  (d^junair):  jejtjnare. 


64  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

§  111. —  it"4-  cons.  -\-j. 

We  find  two  results,  ^i•^"  and  il;  the  latter  has  already 
been  examined/  the  former  is  the  same  as  in  French  proper. 
Examples :  menu'izje  (menuisier) :  minutum,  -^u'ib  (juillet) : 
JULIUM,  but  egU/je  (aiguchier) :  acdtiare,  rmjo  (russiaux) 
and  rusln}"^  (russl^nt) :  a^^bj]-? 

§  112. —  u"-{-  nasal  -f-  cons. 

Wherever  this  combination  occurs,  u"  becomes  ce*",  as  in 
French  proper  :  he'^di  (lundi) :  lunam,  etc. 

au 

I. —  a"u  in  open  syllable. 
§  113. —  a"u-{-  oral  cons.  +  voc. 

The  development  is  here  the  same  as  for  a'u  in  open  sylla- 
ble.^ Examples :  ore\  or  orej  (oreille) :  AURICUL.AM,  ozai' 
(6sair) :  *ausare,  pozai'  (posair) :  pausare,  etc.  We  have 
an  exception  to  the  rule  in  twa^'e  (touare) :  taurum. 

§  114. —  a"w  +  voc. 

This  result  is  like  the  one  in  French  proper.  Examples  : 
luai'  (louair) :  laudare,  wir  (ouir)  :  audire,  etc.  We,  how- 
ever, find  a''u'  in  hljawar  (cllaouair)  :  clavum. 

§  115. —  a"u  +  ^  -h  voc. 

a^'u  here  gives  we",  as  does  a'u  in  this  combination.* 
Examples :  geru'ezilje  (guerouaisilier)  :  Germ,  krausel,  weze 
(ouatse):  aucellum. 

iCf.  ^§60,  3andl08.  ^Cf.  §  70. 

«  Cf.  also  bulje  (btillier) :  ^buculare.  *  Cf.  I  71. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS    PEOPLE   AND   DIALECT.  65 


§  116. —  a"u-{-  nasal  -f  voc. 

As  an  exceptional  product  is  to  be  noted  the  one  word 
fumai'  (chouraair) :  cauma.^ 


II. —  a'^u  in  dosed  syllable. 

§  117. —  a^'u  -\-  cons,  -{-j. 

The  development  here  is  again  similar  to  that  of  a^u  in  the 
same  position  :^  fu'ezir  (chualsir)  :  Gothic  kausjan. 


Chapter  III. 
ATONIC   VOWELS. 

a 

§  118. —  pret.  a  -f  cons,  -f  voc. 

In  this  position,  pretonic  a  falls.  Examples :  kvaoe'  (kVaeu) : 
CAPiLLUM,/m3''  (chimin) :  CAMiNUM,/va  (chVa) :  cabali^um, 
etc.  This  result  is  the  same  as  in  French  proper ;  a  difference 
is  noted  only  in  the  two  words /rm  (f 'reine) :  farinam  and 
knai'X  (c'naille) :  *canaliam. 


§  119. —  pret.  9  -j-  cons,  -f  voc. 

As  in  French  proper,  pretonic  9,  in  this  position,  falls. 
Examples  :  /var  (Pvair) :  levare,  inir  (t'nir) :  tenere,  mir 
(v'nir) :  venire,  etc.     Under  the  influence  of  a  neighboring 

iCf.  r/0,  2,  N0TK2.  '-^Cf.  ^72. 

5 


bb  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

labial,  this  a  becomes  oe,  as  in  Icevre  (leuvrai) :  levare  and 
doBvai'  (eleuvair) :  elevare.^ 

O 

§  120. —  pret.  0  -\-  oral  cons.  +  voc. 

In  sole  (sauler) :  solarium,  o  gives  o,  but  elsewhere  it 
becomes  it'a",  or,  in  a  few  cases,  u.  Examples :  fward 
(fouar^t) :  *forestem,  kwaraj^  (couarage) :  *coraticum, 
mwarir  (mouarir) :  *morire,^  but  kuron  (couronne) :  CORO- 
NAM,  pljuvd  (pllouvait) :  *plovere,  vuli-e  (voulier) :  volere. 

§  121. —  pret.  0  -f-  voc. 

When  0  stands  before  a  vowel,  we  observe  two  results: 
a"w  and  u.  Examples  :  apawai'  (appaouair)  :  *appodare,^ 
but  puet  (pou^te) :  poetam  and  puezi:  (pouesie) :  poesim, 
which  do  not,  however,  represent  a  popular  development. 

§  122.— pret.  o  +  ^  +  voc. 

A  few  peculiar  products  should  be  noted  here,  foi'e  (foyer)  : 
FOCARIUM  represents  the  regular  development.^  njezio^s  (ni6- 
sance) :  nocere  has  been  influenced  by  the  tonic  form  nje  (niet).^ 
Corresponding  to  the  French  u^  we  find  i  in fizi  (flsi)  :  focum. 

^  We  also  hear  apcdre  (appeul'rai) :  appelare,  thougli  the  infinitive 
is  generally  pronounced  aplai'  (app'lair).  Notice  akoevre  (akeuv'rai) : 
*ACCAPARE,  and  even  adoerfje  (adeurchier) :  *directiab,e  and  retcerfje 
(r^teurchier) :  strictiare,  in  which  last  two  examples  the  vowel  is  not 
influenced  bj  a  labial. 

^  Cf.  also  kwafje  (couachier) :  collocare  and  niu'afe  (mouach^) :  mon- 
TICELLUM.  Notice  si:  (s'cie) :  sollicitare,  and  also  peV/a"  (perchain) : 
proprium  and  ferzu  (terjous) :  *tottos  +  diurnos  (cf.  I  161). 

'Corresponding  to  the  French  appuier:  ^appodiare,  is  found  apiai* 
(appiair) ;  cf.  a^niai'  (ennya'ir) :  *inodiare. 

*  V.  Schwan,  Oram.,  §  136. 

^V.  ^53,  L 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND  DIALECT.  67 

§  123. —  pret.  o  +  nasal  +  voc. 

Pretonic  o  gives  u  ^  in  bunoer  (bounheur) :  bonum,  etunai* 
(6tounnair):  *extonare,  mwna;r  (mounaie) :  monetam,  st^nar 
(sounair) :  sonare,  suns  (sounet) :  sonum,  turvBr  (tounerre) : 
tonitrum,  unet  (hounn^te) :  honestum,  unetai'  (hounn^t^- 
tai) :  HONESTATEM,  unoBT  (hounneur) :  honorem.  In  dmarn 
(d'maine)  :  dominium,  o  has  fallen.^ 


Chapter  IY. 
CONSONANTS. 

P 

§  124.—  initial  p -\- l. 

In  the  one  word  Tckjoe'^jje  (cUiingier) :  *plumbicare,  initial 
p  has  become  k,  the  following  I  showing  mouillation  according 
to  the  usual  rule  in  Guernsey.^ 


§  125. —  V  +  cons. 

V,  before  a  consonant,  has  fallen  in  hramoJ'  (brament)  :  Ger- 
man BRAV,  por  (paure)  and  portai'  (paur^tai) :  pauperem.^ 
V  has  also  dropped  in  mo:  (maue) :  malvam  and  ne:  (n6e) : 
niveam. 

§  126.— final  v. 

Final  v  has  disappeared  in  the  Guernsey  pronunciation. 
Examples :  boe  (boeu') :  bovum,  noe  (neti) :  NOVUM,  oe  (oeu^) : 

*OVUM.* 

» Cf.  §g  95,  1,  and  106,  1.  «  a.  ^  106, 1.  *  V.  g  150. 

*Cf.  also  mere/Xe  (m^reille) :  mirabilia. 
*  Also  derjje  (derchid) :  caput. 


68  E.   S.    LEWIS. 


§  127. —  voc.  -\-  dj  -\-  voc. 

^  df  followed  by  a  j^  develops  into  a  fronted  g.  Examples  : 
ai'gje  (aiguier) :  adjutare,  gja'hje  (guiablle) :  diabolum, 
gju  (guiu)  :  ^  deum,  ogjaJ's  (auguience) :  audientiam.^  In 
such  words,  the  dental  stop  d  has  been  changed  to  the  palatal 
stop  g,  under  the  influence  of  the  following  palatal  consonant 
j ;  this  phenomenon  is  by  no  means  a  peculiarity  of  the  Guern- 
sey patois.^ 

§  128. —  voc.  -{-  d  -\-  voc. 

Intervocalic  d  has  fallen  in  le:  (laie)  :  Germ.  lai^. 

§  129.— n  +  d 

In  one  word,  d,  following  immediately  an  n,  has  been 
assimilated  to  it :  repmii  (repounni) :  respondere.* 

§  130. —  in  -f  versus, 

A  d  is  intercalated  in  oJ'dvi'dr  (endviers) :  in  +  versus, 
one  proof  that  the  vowels  followed  by  a  nasal  were  not  only 
nasalized,  but  that  n  was  also  pronounced  {cC'ndvvdr)  in 
Guernsey  longer  than  in  Normandy,  where  this  result  has 
apparently  not  been  noted  in  the  modern  dialects ;  this  n 
has  now  been  dropped,  but,  l)efore  it  had  disappeared,  a  d 
was  introduced  between  it  and  the  following  sound ;  in  the 
passage  from  the  nasal  n  to  the  pure  oral  consonant  v,  the 
velum  would  be  raised  before  the  tongue  had  broken  contact 
with  the  teeth,  thus  inevitably  bringing  in  a  <i  in  the  pro- 

^  When  after  a  word  ending  in  a  vowel. 
'Also  kogjdr  (cauguidre) :  calidum. 
'Cf  this  result  with  the  fronted  k  from  tj,  ^  132. 

*  Cf.  also  jmnu.  (pounu) :  ponere,  corresponding  to  the  French  pondu, 
and  grry^^ma^  (gran'raent) :  grandem. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS   PEOPLE   AND   DIALECT.  69 

nunciation.  A  d  would  not  have  been  introduced  here  if 
only  a  nasalized  vowel,  not  followed  by  the  consonant  n,  had 
preceded  the  v, 

§  131.— final  d. 

A  peculiar  change  of  final  d  (or  t)  into  h  is  seen  in  the  form 
nik  (nic) :  NIDUM.  A  like  change,  after  the  vowel  i,  is  not 
unknown  in  other  languages.^ 

t 

§  132. —  voc.  +  &  +  voc. 

The  result  here,  a  fronted  h,  corresponds  to  the  one  obtained 
from  intervocalic  dj.^  Examples :  hrekja''  (chr^quien) :  CHRis- 
TIANUM,  kjol"  (quien^) :  ^  tenet,  mekje  (m^quier) :  ministe- 
RIUM,  md^kjaJ'^dre  (mainquiendrai) :  manum  +  tenere,  and 
such  words  as  bakjo  (b^uiaux),  etc."*  A  more  popular  de- 
velopment is  observed  in  pkjdj  (pll^che) :  plateam  and  pufje 
(puchier) :  puteum. 

§  133. —  cons,  -\-tj-\-  voc. 

(1)  tj  here  develops  into  /.  Examples :  adcerfje  (adeur- 
chier) :  *directiare,  amff  (av^nche) :  ab  +  antiam,  ol'sorj- 
Idi'  (ensorchelair)  :  *sortiarium,  forf  (forche)  :  *roRTiAM, 
forfi  (forchi) :  *fortiatum,  kafje  (cachier) :  *captiare,  fo"- 
fodr  (lincheur) :  linteolum,  ni'ef  (niSche) :  neptiam,  Thcef 
(neuches) :  *nuptias,  pdrfi  (perchi) :  peritiatum,  sva""/ 
(scienche)  :  scientiam,  sorjje  (sorchier) :  sortiarium,  retcerji 
(reteurchi) :  strictiare.  The  development  of  tj  into  /,  in 
this  and  all  dialects,  is  explained  as  follows.     Between  the 

^Professor  Matzke  has  heard,  in  English,  prelerik  for  preterit,  acik  for 
cLcid,  and,  in  German,  Zeik  for  Zek. 

'  Especially  after  a  word  ending  in  a  vowel. 

"V.  g  28,  1.     Cf.  also /em^jar  (chimquiSre) :  coemeterium  and  nMweaA;« 
(mauvaisqu6) :  male  +  vatium. 


70  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

dental  t  and  the  palatal  j,  an  s-sound  would  be  introduced,  as 
its  position  lies  between  that  of  t  and  that  of  jj  the  point  of 
the  tongue  being  raised  toward  the  teeth,  accompanied  with  a 
slight  rise  of  the  back  of  the  tongue  toward  the  palate ;  this 
combination  of  sounds  would  then  develop  into  tfj  (or  tf)y  the 
s-sound  and  the  j  uniting  to  produce  /;  under  the  influence 
of  the  following  palatal  jj  the  back  of  the  tongue  would  be 
raised  nearer  to  the  palate  than  in  the  production  of  s,  a  rise 
that  would  naturally  be  accompanied  with  a  lowering  of  the 
point  of  the  tongue,  and  thus  the  s-sound  becomes/;  the  t  of 
tf  drops  later,  as  it  does  in  French  proper. 

(2)  In  this  position,  §*  >  fe  >  s  in  French  proper  ^  and  in 
the  literary  JSTorman  ;  ^  in  the  modern  Norman  dialects,  as  also 
in  Guernsey,  the  result  is  /. 

8 

§  134. —  initial  gL 
Initial ^Z  becomes  dr  in  drisai'  (drissai'r) :  O.  H.  G.  *glitzan. 

§  ISb.—  g  +  i. 

The  development  of  g  before  i  differs  from  that  in  French 
proper,  in  the  one  word  gilwdt  (guilouette)  :  girare. 

§  136.— 5^  + a. 

(1)  g,  initial  or  preceded  by  a  vowel,  remains  here,  whether 
a  be  unchanged  or  become  e.  Examples :  gabt  (galette) : 
Breton  kalet,  gar  (gar)  :  Vci^'^i^j  gardd^  (gardin);  O.  H.  G. 
GARTO,  gat  (gatte) :  gabatas,  grfb  (gambe) :  Vcamb,  gdrh 
(guerbe),  gdrbai'  (guerbair)  and  gdrbi'dr  (guerbiere) :  O.  H.  G. 
GARBA,  ger9  (gu^ret)  :  Cymric  GAR.  

(2)  An  exception  is  noted  in  d^drgo^  (djergon)  :  ^/(^a.b.Gc  ; 
this  word  may  have  been  influenced  by  the  Modern  French 
form. 

^  Schwan,  6rmm.,  g  253,  and  Meyer-Liibke,  Gram.  Bom.,  I,  p.  458. 
*  Suchier,  Frang.,  p.  38. 


guernsey:  its  people  and  dialect.  71 


§  137.— ^  + aw. 

Id  y):  (jaue) :  gabatam  and  jwe  (joue) :  gaudium,  the 
result  is  similar  to  that  in  French  proper. 


§138.— 5^  +  0. 

g  remains  in  this  position,  as  it  does  in  French  proper. 
Examples :  gore  (gorret)  :  O.  H.  G.  GOR,  gul  (goule) : 
GULAM,  etc. 


§  139. —  hs  +  cons. 

When  ks  {=x)  precedes  a  consonant,  the  h  is  dropped. 
Examples :  dskursjo^  (escursion) :  excursionem,  dskuz  (es- 
qtise) :  excusare,  dspXiha^d^  (espllication) :  explicare, 
dsprd  (espres) :  expressum,  dstrordindr  (estrordinaire) :  extra 
H-  ORDiNARiUM,  dspje  (csplkit) :  explicitum. 

§  140.—  final  h 

Final  h  usually  falls  in  the  following  words :  fro  (fro') : 
FLOCCUM,  hro  (cro') :  *CROCCUM,  mdr  (mer) :  Germ,  mark, 
trafi  (trafi') :  *transvicare,  and  in  the  proper  name  iza 
(Is^) ;  but  the  pronunciation  with  a  ^  is  also  heard.  * 

§  141. —  voc.  -\-  kj  -\-  voc. 

hj,  preceded  by  a  vowel,  becomes  /,  sometimes  heard  as  sf. 
Examples  :  erifo'^  (h^risshon)  :  *ericionem,  fai'J  (faisshe)  : 
FACIAM,  hofcer  (caussheure) :  calceam,  majif  (machon) : 
MACIONEM.  Wherever  k,  followed  byj,  gives/,  it  must  first 
have  been  strongly  fronted,  and  then  have  developed  like  ^ 
before  a  vowel.^ 

ly.  U33, 1. 


72  E.   S.   LEWIS. 


§  142.-^  +  6  (i). 

(1)  The  regular  development  of  k,  in  this  position,  is  into 
/.  Examples :  d^brqfi  (embrasshi) :  brachium,  dwafmoJ' 
(douach'ment)  :  dulcem,  ehfj  (el^nche) :  ex  +  lanceare, 
liTnaf  (limache)  :  limacem,  nwdfen  (medchine)  :  medicinam, 
mifq/e  (mouache) :  MONTiCELLUM,pifa/a''(pouasshin);  pulle- 
ciNUM,  purj^fjo^  (pourchession) :  processionem,  'puf  (puche) : 
PULICEM,  rajen  (rachine) :  radicinam,  fa""  (chent) :  cen- 
tum, JmHur  (chainture) :  cincturam,  Jem  (chime) :  cymam, 
Je^'k  (chinq)  :  cinque,  Jlav  (ch'lair) :  celare,  Jliz  (ch'lise) : 

*ceraseam.^ 

(2)  A  peculiar  development  is  noted  in  pot  (p6te)  :  Germ. 

POKI. 

§  143.— A;  +  a. 

(1)  In  this  position,  k  remains.  Examples :  akatai'  (aca- 
tair) :  accaptare,  akvai'  (ak'vair) :  caput,  a'Jurkje  (enfour- 
quer) :  FURCAM,  bek  (b^que) :  Celtic  V^ACC,  hrr)"k  (bran que) : 
BRANCAM,  hroha  (broquet) :  broccam,  ekapai'  (ecappair) : 
CAPPAM,  Jikje  (fiquer) :  figicare,  hv^'k  (hanque) :  ancam, 
ka  (cat) :  cattum,  karwan  (carouagne) :  *caroniam,  kastai'n 
(castaine) :  castaneam,  kafje  (cachier) :  *captiare,  kaiwalje 
(catouailler) :  *cattuculare,  ke?-  (quaire) :  cathedram, 
keri'o  (keriot) :  carrum,  kdrbo''  (querbon) :  carbonem,  kar- 
tad'  (quertaie)  :  carrum,  kdril:  (querrue) :  carrucam,  kljok 
(clloque)  :  clocam,  ko  (caud) :  calidum,  ko  (caux)  :  calcem, 
kof  (cauche) :  calceum,  kofi:  (cauchie) :  calciatam,  kofoer 
(caussheure)  :  calceam,  kvace'  (k Vaeu)  :  ^  capillum,  makje 
(maquer) :  MASTICARE,  pek  (p^ue) :  PISCARI,  twakje  (toua- 
quer) :  ^  Germ.  *tukk6n,  vak  (vaque)  :  vaccam. 

^  Cf.  also  tfii  (tchu) :  culum. 

'  Also  pronounced  gvaoe',  where  A;  has  become  voiced  under  the  influence 
of  the  following  sonant  v ;  cf.  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  45,  and  Beetz,  c  und  ch,  p.  24. 

'  This  is  the  pronunciation  of  the  old  people ;  iwafje,  or  even  tufje,  is  more 
usual  now. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  ANl5  DIALECT.  73 

(2)  This  development  is  similar  to  that  in  the  modern 
patois  of  Northern  Normandy  ^  and  in  Old  Norman.^ 

(3)  Six  exceptions  have  been  found,  in  which  k  gives  /, 
the  same  result  as  in  French  proper:^ /ape  (chap§):  cap- 
PELLUM, /»"(i^/;e  (eh  audi  Her)  :  candelam, /©""^re  (chancre): 
CANCRUM,  femna.'V  (chimn^ie) :  caminatam,  /ms"  (chimin)  : 
CAMINUM,  fnal  (ch'nal)  :  canalem.  Two  further  exceptions 
present  the  stage  before  /:  tfa''  (tchen) :  canem  and  tfai'r 
tchair) :  *  carnem.^ 

(4)  In  the  following  words,  kj  before  an  a,  develops  into  s  : 
saf  (9ache),  safje  (9achier)  and  safer  (yachaire) :  *captiare. 

§  144. —  cons.  -\-  k  -\-  a. 

The  k  here  becomes  /.  Examples :  bjiff  (bll^nche) :  blan- 
CAM,  ku'afje  (couachier) :  collocare,  marfi  (marchi) :  mer- 
CATUM,  rakurfje  (racourchier)  :  curtum. 

This  development  agrees  exactly  with  that  in  French  proper, 
being  k  when  the  latter  is  k,  and  /  when  the  latter  is  /. 
Examples :  ko:n  (c6ne) :  CORNUA,  ku:  (coue) :  CODAM,  etc., 
and  mufoe  (moucheux)  :  *mxjccare,  faw  (chaou)  :  golem,  etc. 


§  146. —  s  -\-  voc. 

The  only  examples  of  the  development  of  s  into/,  arefuk 
(chouque):  S0CCUM,/i^^r  (shuker):  Arabic  sokkar,  and  frikafi 
(fricasshi):  Frankish  *frek,  ^ras/ or  Z;m/ (crasshe) :  crassam, 
mafakr  (masshacre) :  massacrium.  It  is  to  be  noticed,  in  these 
examples,  that  s  becomes/ when  followed  originally  by  a  vowel 

^  Joret,  Extension,  p.  113.  '  Suchier,  Frang.,  pp.  41  and  80. 

^  Cf.  Joret,  Besdn,  p.  227,  and  Beetz,  c  und  eh,  p.  25. 

*  The  pronunciation  of  this  word  with  a  tf  was  heard  only  in  the  expres- 
sion mouailli  jusqu'au  tchair;  elsewhere  it  is  always  pronounced  with  the 
single/.  *  Cf.  also  e//e/ (^tchelle) :  scalam. 


74  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

that  requires  a  low  position  of  the  tongue,  or,  in  the  case  of 
hrafy  when  final.  The  reason  of  this  development  is  thus  made 
manifest :  as  the  blade  of  the  tongue  is  lower  in  the  produc- 
tion of  our/ than  in  that  of  s,^  the  former  would  naturally  be 
produced  in  passing  from  s  to  any  sound  requiring  a  low  posi- 
tion of  the  blade,  in  going,  for  example,  from  s  to  u  or  a,  or 
to  the  position  of  rest,  when  s  is  final.  The  /-sound  then 
absorbs  the  preceding  s,  and  first  in  words  where  the  combi- 
nation is  initial. 

§  147. —  initial  sh. 

In  shahe  (scabe) :  scabellum,  the  e  before  s  impurum  has 
not  been  added,  as  it  is  in  the  French  word  escaheau, 

§  148. —  s  -\-  cons. 

In  a  few  words,  s,  followed  by  a  consonant,  falls  :  dU'r^itrav 
(enr'gttrair) :  regestrum,  elzali'e  (Scalier):  scalam,  eMrh^ 
(ekerbot)  :  SCARABAEUM,  despotem  (despottme)  :  hea-irorrj'^ . 
It  has  not,  however,  disappeared   in  kastanje  (castagnier) : 

CASTANEAM.^ 

§  149.—  final  s. 

The  final  s-sound  has  been  retained  in  some  words  where  it 
has  dropped  in  French  proper ;  hus  (houss) :  Frankish  hulis 
and  rus  (rouss) :  russum  ;  also  pis  (piss)  :  puteum. 

I 

§  150. —  stop  cons. +^' 

(1)  When  I  is  preceded  by  a  stop  consonant,  or  by  a  dento- 
labial  fricative,  it  is  palatalized,  and  even  develops,  in  some 

^  There  has  been  much  discussion  concerning  the  relative  positions  of  s 
and/;  Jespersen  {Articulations  of  Speech  Sounds,  p.  62)  gives,  for  the  French 
8,  the  notation  ;8  1  ef,  whereas  he  believes  that  j8/7>/l  indicates  somewhat 
the  position  of  the  point  and  upper  surface  of  the  tongue  for  French  /. 

^Cf.  dskeri'ai'  (eskMair) :  *exquiritare. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS   PEOPLE  AND   DIALECT.  75 

words,  into  the  pure  palatal  j.  There  seems  to  be  no  fixed 
rule,  whereby  we  may  know  when  it  becomes  Ij  (or  \/),  and 
when  it  develops  into  j.  The  pronunciation  varies  with  dif- 
ferent people,  the  better  educated  being  apt  to  retain  the  \,  no 
doubt  under  the  influence  of  the  orthography.^  The  pro- 
nunciation wavers  in  such  examples  as  dekljerje  (d^llairier) : 
DECLARARE,  ^'»''6ar  (fllambair) :  O.  H.  G.  fliedima,  kupa'- 
blje  (coupablle)  :  culpabilem,  whereas  the  country-people 
always  pronounce  J  in  bja""  (bllanc) :  O.  H.  G.  blanch,  j5fe'6/e 
(fieblle)  :  flebilem,  kjai'r  (cllair)  :  clarum,  jyjezi  (pllaisi) : 
PLACERE,  sa^'bje  (semblle) :  simulat,  sd^'pje  (simplle) :  SIM- 
PLUM,  ta^bje  (tablle)  :  tabulam,^  etc. 

(2)  The  question  here  arises  as  to  the  exact  pronunciation 
of  the  first  three  examples  given,  in  which  was  used  the  tran- 
scription Ij ;  there  may  be  some  doubt  as  to  whether  this 
sound  should  not  be  written  X,  or,  rather,  X; ;  the  more  usual 
pronunciation  seems,  however,  to  be  Ij.  After  all,  this  palatali- 
zation is  a  common  phenomenon  in  the  Romance  languages.* 

§  151. —  Z  +  cons. 

A  few  peculiar  forms  come  under  this  heading.  I  is  vowel- 
ized  in  mogre  (maugr6)  or  mograi'  (maugrai) :  gratum  and 
sudar  (soudard) :  soldatum  ;  it  becomes  r  in  harkul  (carqul) 
and  karkulai'  (carqulair)  :  calculare. 

§  152. —  voc.  4-Z  +  voc. 

(1)  Intervocalic  I  has  suffered  mouillation  in  a  number  of 
cases  :    ekwekjax   (ecueillaie) :    scutellum,  fXjai'  (fillair) : 

^Mr.  Guilbert  says  that  \j  (or  simple  \)  used  to  be  heard,  when  he  was 
a  boy,  much  more  frequently  than  it  now  is ;  the  ^-pronunciation  predomi- 
nates to-day. 

'  Mr.  Corbet  says  that  A  is  heard  in  these  examples,  but  they  are  pro- 
nounced with  a  j-sound  by  Mr.  Guilbert  and  other  Guemseymen. 

^  Meyer-Liibke,  Gram.  Bom.,  I,  pp.  368-374.  It  should  be  noted  that  / 
has  fallen  in  pu  (pus) :  plus  and  its  compounds. 


76  .  E.    S.    LEWIS. 

FILARE,  vikjojd^  (villain),  viXjcinai'  (villanair)  and  viXjaniz 
(villanise) :  *villanum/ 

(2)   In  two  words,  this  I  gives  j :  regujdrma''  (reguyer'ment)  : 
REGULAREM,  paHikuje  (particuyer) :  particularem. 


§  153. —  voc.  -{-Ij  -\-  voc. 

An  opposite  development  from  the  last  is  observed  in  a 
few  words,  where  intervocalic  Ij,  instead  of  being  pak- 
talized,  becomes  a  pure  dental  V  Examples :  evil  (eville) : 
*EXVIGILIAT,  fid  (fielle)  :  foliam,  fil  (file)  :  filiam,  ho^dl 
(consille) :  *C0NSiLiAT,  huli'er  (cullier) :  cochlear.^  This 
result  is  also  noted  in  the  Picard  and  the  Wallonian  dia- 
lects,^ and  in  Old  Norman.* 


§  154.— final  Ij  {kl). 

(1)  Final  Ij  (kl)  develops  into  a  pure  dental  I  in  doel  (deul) : 
DOLIUM,/a?)^^^(famille):  familiam,  fe^'se^  (consel) :  consilium, 
solel  (solel) :  soliculum.  In  three  words,  final  Ij  (kl)  falls,  as 
final  /  often  does :  ^  apare  (appar6) :  pariculum,  orge  (orgu6) : 
Germ,  urgoli,  ti^ava  (travas)  :  *trabaculum. 

(2)  Final  kl  changes  to  r  in  the  plural  form  J9r  (iers) : 
OCULOS  and  in  vi'9r  (vier) :  *veculum  ;  this  development 
would  be  as  follows  :  Z;^  >  \  >  ^  >  r,  for  it  is  not  likely  that 
A-  would  give  r  directly,  without  going  through  the  stage  L 
The  change  of  ^  to  r  is  easily  explained,  since  the  effort  to 
lower  the  sides  of  the  tongue  for  /  is  greater  than  to  simply 
loosen  the  point  of  the  tongue  for  rj 

^Cf.  Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  391,  and  also  the  development  of  w  + 
secondary  j  into  n,  ^  167. 

^  Cf.  this  change  with  that  of  intervocalic  gn  (nj)  into  n,  I  166. 

'  Cf.  also  huli-e  (bMlier) :  *buculare. 

"*  Meyer-Liibke,  Gram.  Mom.,  I,  p.  465. 

*  Gorlich,  Mak.,  p.  xxi,  56 ;  Busch,  Ang.-Norm.,  pp.  47  and  68. 

•V.  §155,  1.  ^Cf.  U55,  2. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS   PEOPLE   AND   DIALECT.  77 

§  165.— final  I. 

(1)  Final  I  is  no  longer  pronounced  in  a  number  of  words  :^ 
anima  (anima) :  animal,  bari  (bari) :  V^ARR,  ma  (ma) : 
MALUM,  nature  (nature) :  naturalem,  nwe  (None) :  nata- 
LEM,  nil  (nu) :  nullum,  opita  (hopita) :  hospitale,  porta 
(porta)  :  portalem,  prd^dpa  (principa)  :  principalem,  srxje' 
(saeu) :  solum, /va  (chVa) :  caballum,  and  also  in  the  proper 
names  raje  (Rache),  sd'^mifje  (St.  Michie)  and  tortva  (Torteva). 

(2)  In  a  few  examples,  final  /  has  developed  into  an  r:^ 
gXja^oer  (gllajeur) :  gladiolum,  b'lfoer  (Imcheur) :  linteo- 
LUM  and  the  three  persons  of  the  singular  of  the  present 
indicative  from  *volere  :  voer  {'f  veurs,  tu  veurs,  i'  veurt).^ 
This  result  is  a  frequent  one  in  the  Romance  field.^ 

§  156. —  cons.  +  ^  +  voc. 

As  with  r  in  this  position,^  we  have  metathesis  of  the  I  in 
four  words :  a^'piljai'  (emp'yllair) :  implicare,  o^biljai'  (onbil- 
lair)  :  *oblitare,  pubiljai'  (pubillai'r) :  publicare  and  rpi- 
Ijav  (r'pillair) :  plica  re. 


§  157. —  voc.  +  ^  +  voc. 

The  change  of  intervocalic  r  into  I  is  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing examples :  herudl  (beruelle) :  brueram,  gilwdt  (guilouette) : 
GiRARE,  prokulce  (proculeux)  :  procuratorem,  Jlk  (ch'lise) : 
*ceraseam. 

§  158. —  final  rj. 

In  the  one  word/^r  (fere) :  feriam,  final  rj  becomes  a  pure 
dental  r.^ 

^  This  I  may  be  pronounced  sometimes,  but  very  rarely. 
*  Cf.  ^  164,  2.  3  Cf.  also  kwondl  (coronel) :  Italian  colonello. 

*Meyer-Lubke,  Gram.  Rom.,  I,  pp.  408-410.  »V.  ^  161. 

^Cf.  with  this  one,  the  development  of  final  Ij  {kl)  into  I,  |  154,  1. 


78    •  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

§  169.— final  r, 

Latin  final  r  disappears  in  some  words.  Examples  :  asi'e 
(assi^^) :  sedere,  ave  (av6) :  habere,  he  (b^) :  bibere,  kei' 
(qu^i^) :  CADERE,  huvri  (couvri^)  :  coperire/  malm  (malheti)  : 
AUGURIUM,  miljaoe'  (milliaeu) :  meliorem,  pXjezi  (pllaisi)  : 
placere,  se  (se) :  serum,  sii  (sus) :  super,  ter-^u  (terjous) : 
DIURNOS,  ve  (v6) :  videre,  and  also  the  nouns  ending  in  os  (for 
oer),  such  SLsfofce  (faueheux),  poe  (peti),  volw  (voleux).  The  only 
remaining  efiect  of  this  r  is  the  lengthening  of  the  final  vowel; 
although  this  vowel  may  not  be  unusually  long,  yet  it  can  never 
be  pronounced  short.  In  many  words,  the  custom  of  dropping 
the  final  r  is  not  yet  firmly  established ;  in  most  of  the  examples 
just  given,  r  is  sometimes  pronounced.  In  many  words,  the 
final  r  is  never  dropped ;  the  exclamation  ver  (ver) :  vere,  for 
instance,  is  never  heard  as  ve,  though  of  exceedingly  common 
occurrence;  the  usual  pause  after  this  word  doubtless  pre- 
vents the  r  from  falling.  We  always  hear,  also,  saver  (saver) : 
sapere. 

§  160.— r+/  (n). 

Before  a  dental  consonant  (either  I  or  w),  r  disappears,  hav- 
ing been  assimilated  to  the  following  sound. ^  Examples : 
epa^'n  (^pangne) :  Germ.  *sparanjan,  kon  (c6ne) :  cornua, 
mel  (mdle) :  merulam,  olo^  (h6loge) :  horologium,  palar 
(pMair)  :  *parabolare,  ulai'  (olilair) :  *orulam.^ 

§  1 61 . —  cons.  -\-  r  -{-  voc. 

(1)  This  combination  is  very  frequently  changed  to  cons. 
+  voc.  -|-  r,  with  sometimes  a  change  in  the  quality  of  the 
vowel.     Only  a  few  examples,  from  a  great  many,  will  be 

*  And  so  with  most  of  the  -iV  infinitives. 

*Cf.  Fleury,  Hague,  p.  51,  and  Eggert,  Norm.  Mund.,  p.  390. 

^r  falls  also  before  an  s-sound  in  pask  (pasque),  equivalent  to  the  French 
parce  que,  and  in  travso^  (trav'sant) :  transversus,  with  the  tenses  formed 
from  this  present  participle.  As  in  French,  r  drops  in  such  sentences  as 
au^  matin,  enV  leux  dents,  etc.,  where  r  follows  a  dental  t  and  precedes  a  con- 
gonant.     Cf.  the  proper  name  mar  git  (Marguite). 


GUERNSEY:    ITS   PEOPLE  AND   DIALECT.  79 

taken  as  illustrations  of  this  change  :  formol'  (forment)  :  fru- 
MENTUM,  adosrfje  (adeurchier) :  *directiare,  perza""  (per- 
sent) :  praesentem.  In  berbi  (berbis) :  *berbicem,  the 
Guernsey  form  seems  to  be  nearer  the  Latin  etymon  than 
is  the  result  in  French  proper,  but  such  is  probably  not  the 
case ;  if  berbi  had  come  directly  from  *berbicem,  the  e  would 
have  been  open,  as  for  example,  in  pdrtu  (pertu)  :  pertusum. 

(2)  A  similar  result  is  seen  in  words  that  have  as  initial 
consonants  a  stop  (or  /,  v)  -\-  r.  An  e  is  introduced  here, 
between  the  consonant  and  the  r :  periai'  (periair) :  precare, 
berudl  (beruelle) :  brueram,  etc.  It  is,  therefore,  probable 
that  such  words  as  the  two  mentioned  above  (perza""  and 
berbi)  show  a  mingling  of  the  two  laws  just  given  ;  according 
to  the  iirst,  the  combinations  pre-  and  brd-  would  become  per- 
and  bdr-  respectively;  but  the  second  law  would  cause  the 
development  of  pre-  and  br9-  into  pere-  and  be?'?-  respectively. 
per-  would,  therefore,  be  a  mixture  of  per-  and  pere-,  and  like- 
wise with  ber-,  which  would  be  the  mixed  product  of  bdr-  and 
ber9-.  It  should  be  observed  that  the  pronunciation  of  e  in 
berbi  is  not  precisely  the  same  as  that  of  e  in  the  French  form 
brebis  ;  the  e  is  rather  between  the  French  e  of  cheval,  brebis, 
and  9.  If  this  were  not  so,  our  berbi  would  be  developed 
regularly  from  brebi,  according  to  the  first  rule  mentioned  in 
this  section  :  bre-  ]>  ber-. 

(3)  These  two  laws  should  now  be  explained.  The  com- 
bination of  a  stop  +  r  was  probably  the  first  to  change.  When 
an  r,  following  a  consonant,  is  strongly  trilled,  and  conse- 
quently held  for  some  length  of  time,  an  indefinite  e-sound  is 
almost  unavoidably  introduced  between  it  and  the  preced- 
ing consonant;  if,  for  example,  the  r  in  priai'  be  trilled 
(==prrriai')j  it  would  soon  develop  an  e  between  itself  and 
the  p  (=  periai').  The  next  combinations  to  change  would 
be  those  with  consonant  -f-  ^  +  ^  (^  or  e),  such  as  pre- ;  ^  the 

^  An  illustration  with  an  e,  instead  of  an  9  or  e,  is  made  use  of  here, 
because  e  is  further  removed  from  the  final  result  e  than  are  either  9  or  e, 
and  what  would  apply  to  it,  would,  a  fortiori,  apply  to  the  other  two  vowels. 


80  E.   S.   LEWIS. 

first  step  might  he  pere-j  and  then,  owing  to  the  similarity  in 
sound  between  the  two  e^s,  the  second  would  drop,  but  the 
first  would  take  its  quality,  to  compensate  fi3r  its  loss  (i.  e., 
pre- ^  per e- y- per-).  The  e  in  this  last  result  (per-)  would 
then  become  9  (or  e),  under  the  influence  of  the  following  r, 
and  such  forms  as  perza"",  herhi  would  be  the  result;  this 
change  in  the  quality  of  e  would  be  made  easier  by  the  exist- 
ence of  such  regular  forms  as  periaVy  or,  in  other  words,  there 
would  be  mixture.  Upon  this  development  becoming  more 
frequent,  this  law  would  then  be  easily  applied  to  words  with 
other  vowels,  like  formal'  (forment).  In  all  these  explana- 
tions, we  must  not  leave  out  of  consideration  altogether  the 
vowel-like  quality  of  /-  and  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be 
changed  from  one  position  in  the  word  to  another. 

§  162.— added  r. 

An  r  has  been  introduced  into  two  words,  rudr  (rudre) : 
RUDEM  and  sudar  (soudard)  ;  soldatum. 

§  163. —  closed  voc.  -|-  r. 

An  important  question  to  be  considered,  is  the  effect  of  r 
on  a  preceding  closed  vowel.  A  closed  vowel  always  requires 
a  high  and  tense  position  of  the  tongue,  and  such  a  position, 
whether  front  or  back,  is  accompanied  by  a  withdrawal  of  the 
point  of  the  tongue  from  the  teeth.  Since,  in  the  production  of 
the  Guernsey  r,  the  point  of  the  tongue  is  raised  toward  the  teeth, 
the  front  or  back  of  the  tongue  would  be  less  tense  and  be 
somewhat  lowered,  in  order  to  allow  the  point  to  press  for- 
ward and  be  sufficiently  loose  to  vibrate  freely  :  ^  thus  an 
open  vowel,  instead  of  the  closed  one,  would  most  naturally 
be  the  result. 

^  According  to  Jespersen,  this  position  might  be  indicated  by  ^x"  —f  or 
even  ^%^—fo\  a  different  notation  would  be  )8/or  j8/^. 


GUERNSEY:    ITS  PEOPLE  AND   DLA.LECT.  81 

m 

§  164. —  mm. 

In  the  pronunciation  of  the  woid  fXjvmb  (fll^mbe):  flam- 
mam,  the  velum  is  raised  before  the  vocal  chords  cease  vibrating, 
and  thus,  instead  of  a  long  m,  is  heard  the  combination  mb} 

n 

§  165.— n  +  ^. 

n  becomes  r  in  murt  (mourte)  and  murtrai'  (mourtrair)  : 
MONSTEARE;  this  change  is  simple,  as  both  consonants  are 
dental.     This  product  is  observed  also  in  other  languages. 

§  166. —  voc.  -f-  gn  (nj)  -\-  voc. 

Instead  of  becoming  7^,  as  in  French  proper,  intervocalic 
gUj  in  a  few  words,  gives  a  pure  dental  n.^  Examples : 
d^dinai'  (indinai) :  dignum,  kastai'n  (castaine) :  castaneam, 
sen  (sine) :  siGNUM,  sinifiai'  (sinifiair)  :  SIGNIFICARB  and  the 
proper  name  almai-n  (AlPmaine).^ 

§  167. —  n  -\-  secondary  j. 

In  a  few  words,  where  French  proper  has  the  pronun- 
ciation nj,  the  Guernsey  patois  has  ftj.^  Examples :  diftje 
(dignier) :  denarium,  manjer  (magniere) :  manuarium,  flje 
(gniais) :   *nidiacem,  fo'^sunje  (chansougnier)  :  cantionem.^ 

§  168.— r  +  w  +  r. 

In  rturo''  (r'to^ron),  equivalent  to  the  French  reioumerons, 
the  n  has  been  assimilated  to  r.     Another  example,  where  n 

^  For  similar  phenomena,  v.  Passy,  Changements  phonetiquesy  p.  216,  §  536. 

*  Cf.  this  result  with  that  of  I  from  intervocalic  Ij,  I  153. 

'Cf.  also  grunai'  (grounnair)  and  grunar  (grounard) :  grunnibe. 

*  Cf.  this  development  to  that  of  intervocalic  I  into  A  and  j,  §  152. 
^Cf.  also  mwafi  (moigne) :  Greek  ix6vtos. 

6 


82  E.  S.   LEWIS. 

has  fallen,  perhaps  through  differentiation  from  the  first  sylla- 
ble, is  pi'anpi'a  (pi^-n-pia),  meaning  "  slowly,"  "  gently." 

§  169.—  voc.  +  fi. 

In  a  few  words,  fl  has  nasalized  the  preceding  vowel,  or, 
rather,  the  nasalization  of  this  vowel,  before  the  following  fi, 
has  not  disappeared  in  the  Guernsey  dialect :  epa^'n  (epangne) : 
Germ.  *sparanjan,  kv^'pa'^fi  (campengne) :  campaneam,  ^o**- 
poJ'fti:  (compengnie) :  *companionem.^ 

§  170. —  nasalization  of  vowels. 

A  few  words  have  been  found,  in  our  patois,  in  which  the 
vowel  has  been  nasalized,  even  when  not  followed  by  a  nasal 
consonant.^  Examples :  da'^pi  (denpls) :  de  +  postea,  ifhi- 
Ijai'  (onbillair) :  *oblitaiie,  and  also  fi'^-^  (in  the  expression 
mafinge),  if  from  fidem.^ 

Edwin  Seelye  Lewis. 


*Cf.  also  de"7na'y  (Dinmanche):  dominicum,  de^nat'  (dinnair):  ^disju- 
NARE  and  the  preterit  ending  of  the  first  person  plural  -6"m  (-inmes), 
corresponding  to  the  French  4me8. 

'  Cf.  the  nasalization  of  final  V,  §  35,  2. 

^era^je  (^ragier) :  *RABrARE,  on  the  contrary,  may  be  an  example  of 
the  loss  of  the  nasalization. 


LIFE 


1,  Edwin  Seelye  Lewis,  was  born  in  Amherst,  Massachusetts, 
on  the  23d  of  July,  1868.  When  I  was  two  years  old,  my 
family  moved  to  Beirut,  Syria,  where  I  lived  for  eight  years, 
attending,  as  soon  as  old  enough,  the  French  School  of  the  Sisters 
in  that  city.  At  ten,  I  went  to  Geneva,  Switzerland,  and  studied 
in  the  schools  of  that  place  for  five  years,  after  which  I  returned 
to  America.  One  year  was  spent  in  Westminster,  Vermont,  with 
private  teachers.  I  then  entered  Wabash  College,  Crawfordsville, 
Indiana ;  obtained  the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1888,  and  was  awarded 
"for  merit"  that  of  A.  M.  in  1891.  In  the  autumn  of  1888, 1  entered 
the  Romance  Language  department  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, where  I  remained  until  taking  my  Doctor's  degree  in  1892, 
being  appointed  Scholar  in  1889,  Fellow  in  1890,  Assistant  in 
Romance  Languages  and  Fellow  by  Courtesy  in  1891.  In  1892, 
I  was  appointed  Instructor  in  Romance  Languages  at  Princeton 
University.  As  a  second  minor  I  studied  the  history  of  the 
Renaissance  in  Italy,  my  major  subject  and  first  minor  including 
the  philology  and  literature  of  the  Romance  Languages.  I  spent 
Ihe  summers  of  1889  and  1891  in  Guernsey,  Paris  and  London, 
preparing  the  present  dissertation.  While  at  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  I  studied  under  Professors  Elliott,  Adams,  Todd, 
F.  M.  Warren  and  Bloomfield,  whom  I  respectfully  thank  for  the 
valuable  aid  and  instruction  given  me. 


83 


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